Learn How To Use Elegant Themes For A Church Website

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Resources Used To Make Church Website:

• Just Host
  This is the best host as of the writing of this blog post. They offer a great UNLIMITED hosting package under $50!
• WordPress
  This is platform/content management system (cms) that I recommend for churches to build their website from. Easy to use and great functions! Learn how to install WordPress for a church website on our homepage.
• Elegant Themes – Chameleon Theme
  This video used Elegant Themes to make the sample church website found in the video. I have used these people to make custom church websites for a few years now. They continually update their themes and offer great support through their member forum.

Why Is WordPress Good For Church Websites?

Easy To Setup

Off all the previous systems I have used, WordPress has the easiest setup process. Not only is it easy to setup, but when customizations aren’t as hard when compared to other content management software. Also, I most web hosting companies, you can do what is called a “one click install”, which is a simple process to install WordPress on your church website. Both Bluehost and Justhost has easy WordPress installations.

High Quality Templates

After you have installed WordPress for your Church website, you will need to have a “look”. Don’t worry, you can find hundreds of themes for your church website. One thing to keep in mind is that some themes are not meant for anything in particular. Really, they are meant for you to customize. So, if you find a layout that you like, but it says it’s for something else beside a church website, that’s ok. You can change the theme to look like it’s made for a church.

You can find a list of WordPress Themes that we recommend for church websites here. →

Plugins That Help Church Websites

Another great feature that comes with such a widely accepted website platform for churches is that fact that there a hundred of professional plugins. Having used WordPress for all my websites, I can say that plugins bring life to a website. Need to plugin to display an image gallery? No problem. How about s contact form? It’s there. What if I want to have sermons on my church website? Well, there’s a plugin for that too. If you have a feature that you want, the chances are that someone has already made it. What makes it ever better is that you can search for plugins inside your website, click install, and it’s there within moments. All you have to do is configure it, and now you have great features in your church website.

After thinking about this vast difference between a good church website and a bad church website, I’d like to share with you a few things that I have noticed make a good church website.

(Please understand that I am in no way trying to be critical. I just want to help churches see their potential in their online reach)

Good Looking Church Websites Have the Following:

• Consistent theme on every page
• Sharp images that we NOT taken with a simple “point & shoot” camera
• Clean layout
• Events page
• Easy to find contact information by a simple glance or easy to find contact button
• Online mp3 sermons to listen to or download
• A list of doctrinal beliefs
• A list of ministries
• A general statement about the vision of the church
• Social media widgets
• And the MOST important…the Gospel Plan of Salvation

There are all things that I have noticed in a church website that make them stand out. They are important to helping visitors learn more about your church.  In all this, you want your website to be easy to navigate.

One way to make this easy is to have a pre-made template that meets the above list. Also, it’s a LOT easier to manage a church website with a CMS (content management system). Just about every part of your church website will become automated with a CMS like WordPress or Joomla.

If you want to learn more about the great resources that are available to churches, then read our “Church Website Resources” Page.

By the grace of God, I have personally been able to help several churches make a website. As result, we have seen several benefits, and I’d like to share them them with you:

Opportunity To Share God’s Word

This is the primary reason I like having a church website. One can simply place sermons or blog posts on a church website that promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and help equip Christians in the service of our Lord. We live in a day when people no longer buy sermon tapes, they download mp3 sermons and place them on their phones or smart devices. Having a church website can help people tune in to the Word of God anywhere. This is a great tool that can be used to Glorify God, promote the Gospel, and help people in their daily lives.

Sets An Example Of Your Church

Our church is small (it’s a church plant), and we don’t have much as far as facilities go…we meet in a conference room, but we have a website. One day we had a visitor come to our church, and they stated that they trusted our church because we took time to make a nice website. I thought about it, and I realize that we serve a King, and He deserves the best we can offer. That being said, I want to have a church website that makes our church think much about God. When people find your website, they can tell if it’s up to date or made when the internet was invented. Rather then have a poor testimony, I want to represent Jesus in the best way possible online, and that is with a good looking church website.

Allows People To Find Your Church Information

As mentioned in the previous point, we had a visitor come to our church based on our church website. He and his family were on vacation, and were faithful enough to go to church while on vacation (just because we take a break doesn’t mean God does). They looked up “baptist church in ….” and found our church. He and his family are one of many that have come to visit our church based on an online search.

You see, people no longer turn to a phone book when they have an internet capable device that can tell them about church. Not only that, but these new devices can actually give a person directions. This has made it easier to find things online, and a church is no exception. Having a church website helps you become visible to the online searching community.

A Place For Church Members To Be Updated

One last benefit of having a church website is that your members can turn to it for general information about your church. For instance, I have had to contact a specific church, so I go to their website to find the contact information. Hopefully, your church members know how to get a hold of your church, but what about a calender of events, or photos from the last big day? You see, you can place things online for your church members to keep up with church activities.