Insights · 5 min read
What a church or parish website needs (and what it doesn't)
By Austin Hunter ·
Most people visit a church website for a handful of reasons: when is Mass or the service, where do I park, how do I give, and who do I call. A good parish site answers those in seconds on a phone, and stays easy for the office staff or a volunteer to keep current.
The pages visitors look for first
- Service and Mass times, including holy days and holiday changes, on the home page.
- Address, parking and accessibility information, with a map link.
- Online giving that works on a phone in a few taps.
- The weekly bulletin, easy to find and readable on a phone.
- Sacraments and life events: baptism, weddings, funerals, confession times, with who to contact.
- A short "New here?" page that says what to expect.
- Staff and office contacts with office hours.
What can usually wait
- A custom app. A fast mobile website does most of what a parish app would, without App Store upkeep.
- Long history pages and every ministry's sub-site on day one.
- Complex member portals, unless the parish already has the staff to run them.
Keep it easy to update
The best church website is one the office can update without calling anyone. Use a mainstream platform such as WordPress, give each editor their own login, and set up simple templates for announcements, events and the bulletin. One calendar that feeds the home page saves a lot of double entry.
Accessibility and trust
- Readable text sizes and strong contrast for older parishioners.
- Real text, not images of text, so screen readers and search engines can read it.
- Captions on video homilies and livestream recordings where possible.
- A privacy page and secure (https) giving, so people trust the site with their details.
Who should own the accounts
Register the domain, hosting and giving accounts in the parish's name, not a volunteer's. Volunteers move on; the parish shouldn't lose its website when they do.
How we can help
We build and look after websites for small businesses and nonprofits, and we make Liturgical Living, a free Catholic calendar app and website. Our care plans keep a parish site updated, backed up and secure for a flat monthly fee.