If you look after communication at your church — or you’re the person who “just ends up doing the website” — you’ll know how many hats you end up wearing. The encouraging part is that you don’t need to be a developer to notice the things that tend to trip visitors up online. With a simple once‑a‑quarter check‑in, you can keep your site clear, welcoming, and easy to use.
Open the homepage and imagine arriving as a first‑time visitor. Within a few seconds, can you see who the church is, when the next service happens, where it is, and how to join in? If any of that is hidden, a short welcome line, visible service times, and a clear “Plan Your Visit” button usually help a lot.
Most people browse on their mobiles. Check a few pages and see whether the text feels cramped, if buttons are fiddly, or if the menu is awkward to use. Headings should be easy to scroll through, and contact details like phone numbers should be tappable.
Church websites collect pages over time. Try to limit the main menu to a small set of essentials — newcomers, Sundays, ministries, sermons, events, giving. Everything else can live in dropdowns where it still makes sense, but doesn’t overwhelm.
Visitors often come looking for one thing: when do you meet? Put service times somewhere obvious and repeat them in your footer. A small map and a line about parking or public transport can make a surprising difference.
Slow pages put people off. Compress large images, avoid heavy sliders, and switch to modern file formats if you can. Video backgrounds often look nice but can slow things down — you may be better off keeping them simple.
A few small tweaks help everyone: good contrast between text and background, meaningful link text, alt text on images, and a site that works with a keyboard as well as a mouse. It doesn’t have to be perfect — small improvements really do help.
A fresh homepage says “this church is active”. Add your most recent sermon or highlight an upcoming event — just a little update goes a long way.
Make sure your safeguarding policy is easy to find. Add basic contact details and a short privacy or cookie notice so people feel reassured about how their information is used.
Once you’ve spotted what needs attention, jot down a short list with who’s responsible and when you’ll update it. Doing this every few months keeps the site healthy without it feeling overwhelming.
If you’d like someone to take a look with you, we’re always happy to offer a friendly review and point out a few simple improvements tailored to your church.
