Most people who look up a church online are deciding whether to come this Sunday. They may have just moved, been invited by a friend, or be looking for a place after a hard season. They search, open two or three church websites on a phone, and look for three things: when the service is, where it is, and what it will be like to walk in the door. Members use the same site differently, for this week’s events, the sermon they missed and the group they lead. A church website has to serve the visitor first without making members hunt for what they need.
What usually gets in the way
- Service times buried. The time and address sit below a welcome video, a slideshow and a letter from the pastor, or only in the footer.
- Nothing for a first visit. No word on where to park, which door to use, what to wear, how long the service runs or what happens with children.
- Out-of-date events. Last month’s events still on the home page while this week’s are missing.
- Sermons scattered. Some on YouTube, some on a podcast feed, a few on the site, and no single place to find last week’s message.
- Giving that is hard to find, or a giving link that goes to a page with a different name on it.
- Member details in the open. Older sites sometimes list names, emails and phone numbers on public pages where anyone can copy them.
- Hard to read for some people. Small text, low contrast and scanned bulletins that screen readers cannot read leave out older members and people with disabilities.
What we build for churches
- Service times and directions at the top. The first screen on a phone shows when and where, with a link that opens directions in the visitor’s maps app.
- A plan-your-visit page. Parking, which entrance to use, what to expect, children’s programs, building access as you describe it, and who will greet them, written in the church’s own voice. This is the page a nervous first-time visitor reads twice.
- Sermons and livestream links. An archive with series, speakers and dates that links to or embeds each message from where you already publish it, plus a clear “watch live” link on service days.
- Events. A calendar built on Wix Events, with sign-ups where you need them, so ministry leaders can post and change events from the dashboard.
- Giving through the provider you choose. If you already use a giving platform, we link to it clearly from every page. If you want giving on the site itself, Wix can take payments in the church’s own legal name. The church decides.
- Groups and ministries. A page for each group with who it is for, when it meets and how to join, and a sign-up form that alerts the group’s leader by email. Each form is tested by sending a real message that has to arrive.
- Member logins and a private directory. Members sign in to see the directory, volunteer schedules or prayer requests, and an admin approves new accounts. Member emails and phone numbers never appear on public pages. Our guide to member roles and approvals covers who should see what, and our custom web apps page covers larger member systems.
- Accessibility. Built to WCAG 2.2 AA and checked at nine screen sizes, with readable text and bulletins published as web pages instead of scans. Our accessibility maintenance keeps it that way as staff add content.
Churches with committees, classes and member-run groups share a lot with other membership organizations; our page on clubs and organizations covers the member database side in more depth.
Getting found by visitors
People search for “church near me”, “churches with youth groups”, “contemporary worship service”, “Mass times” or a church’s name with “service times”. Many of those searches happen on a phone and show map results first, so we prepare your Google Business Profile with your address, hours and photos; someone at the church signs in and verifies it. Structured data marks up your church, address, service times and events, and we set up both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
People also ask AI assistants things like “what time is the service at the church on Main Street” or “which churches nearby have a children’s program”. An assistant can only answer correctly when your site says it plainly and keeps it current. Our guide to showing up in AI answers explains what helps. Nobody can guarantee rankings, but a clear, current site gives visitors and search engines the right answer.
How a project runs and what we need from you
We start with the basics:
- Service times, the address and parking or entrance details
- A Wix account owned by the church, not a single volunteer’s personal account
- Where sermons and livestreams are published now
- The giving provider you use, or the decision to take gifts on the site
- A list of groups and ministries with their leaders
- Photos you have permission to use
We build on a preview address, your staff review every page, and we test every form and check every page at nine screen sizes before the site goes live. With managed hosting, we keep the site running with daily checks. Our written proposal lists one-time and monthly costs separately. To see what affects the budget, read the website cost guide, or send us your current site and your service times.
