How To Set Up A Website For My Church
Aside from engaging your current members, building a website with the right platform could be especially beneficial for growing your church's following. Did you know that 80% of new visitors look at a church's website before even stepping inside the building?
Anyway, you might not have the time or budget to commit all your waking hours to building a website. And that's okay! Website builders offer a fast and cheap solution – these are online platforms which help you create your very own website, without needing any tech skills.
5 Best Church Website Builders
- Wix – best overall church website builder
- Squarespace – best for beautiful designs
- Weebly – best for building on a budget
- Strikingly – best for ease of use
- Jimdo – best for creating a simple website
Compare the 5 Best Church Website Builders
The table below shows the key features, so you can choose the builder that suits your needs the most. You can use the arrow at the top of the chart to bring in other platforms to compare. We've started you off with the top three: Wix, Squarespace and Weebly.
We're pretty proud of our research process, because not many sites can say they've carried out such in-depth testing before making recommendations. Here's how our in-house research team go about finding the best website builders on the market.
Every single builder goes through our thorough research process. We investigate important areas such as:
- Ease of use
- Design flexibility
- Value for money
- Feature quality
- Help and support
- Customer satisfaction
This helps us rate and compare the builders fairly, focusing on important factors that users have told us matter most.
We even get groups of everyday people to test the builders out and give us feedback, which we then analyze. This helps us:
- understand exactly how easy (or difficult) beginners find the builder
- uncover any issues within the builder
- judge customer satisfaction
We've applied this process to over 50 website builders so far – all so we can bring you the most accurate results and recommendations!
Still got questions? Read our report on How We Conduct Our Website Builder Research for a more detailed explanation.
We wanted to separate the good from the bad, and discard the downright ugly altogether. That's why we carefully carried out in-depth research, testing, analyzing, and comparing our results until we could confidently say that these are the best church website builders on the market.
This article will compare these church website builders, pin down exactly what each of them are best for, explore their features and prices, and more. In short, we'll help you decide once and for all which builder is the best choice for your church.
#1. Wix
Best overall church website builder
Wix came top of the class in our research, combining ease of use with professional features and stunning designs – and most importantly, it's super easy to use. Check out its rating below!
- Easiest to use
- Quality features
- 500+ templates
Free plan available
Paid Plans:
Pros
- Most popular in user testing
- 12 church-specific templates available
- Extensive support knowledge base
Cons
- Can't change template once site is live
- Less storage space than other options
- Most expensive starter plan
Read Review
Wix Overview
Wix is a popular website builder with amateurs, businesses, and even celebrities – you've probably seen the adverts on TV. It's a drag-and-drop website builder, meaning it couldn't be easier to use – you simply drag elements like pictures, text boxes, and videos to wherever you want them on your page. Here's a bit more info about Wix's drag-and-drop editor.
Wix isn't a specialized church website builder, but it does have specific church and non-profit templates for you to choose from. You can add donation, contact, and events pages, share blog posts, and even post sermons on your site.
Wix Pricing
Wix has a free plan, but to use your own domain name, you'll need to upgrade to one of Wix's seven paid plans. The cheapest is the $11 per month Combo plan, but for better resources, we recommend the $14 per month Unlimited plan – this is still budget friendly, but will allow more traffic to your site.
We like that Wix has a selection of religion-specific templates.
To edit text, all you have to do is click on the words you'd like to change, and a simple toolbox will pop up.
To add contact forms and other features, all you have to do is select them from a neat library.
Further Information
- Does Wix sound like the ideal match for your church's needs? Find out more in our detailed Wix Review
- Discover which plan is right for you in our in-depth Wix Pricing Review
#2. Squarespace
Best for beautiful designs
Squarespace can't be beaten for its stunning designs. But it's not just a pretty face – take a look below to see how it scored in our testing.
Squarespace Overview
Squarespace wows its users with its high quality, sophisticated template designs . If you have large images or want a truly professional looking site, Squarespace is your top choice.
It's not quite as beginner friendly as Wix, but you still don't need any coding or tech skills to use it – just a little more free time.
In terms of design, Squarespace doesn't have specific church website templates. Instead, browse through the "Community and Non-Profit" templates to find your perfect match – we particularly recommend the Clarkson template!
Squarespace has amazingly high quality features, all of which are already built-in. For example, with the Clarkson theme, you'll find donation, mission, and volunteering pages automatically included.
No matter which theme you choose, you can be confident you'll end up with a professional, sleek, and powerful site to engage your visitors.
Squarespace Pricing
It's more pricey than Wix, with prices starting at $12 per month. We would recommend choosing the $18 per month Business plan, as this lets you accept donations through your website.
Squarespace's "Community & Non-Profits" templates are some of the most stylish we've seen.
You can add your own images with just a few clicks in the Squarespace editor.
Squarespace templates are focused on visuals, so it's easy to create a stunning website.
Further Information
- Read our full Squarespace Review to find out if this could be the perfect builder for you
- Does Squarespace fit your budget? Find out in our Squarespace Pricing Review
#3. Weebly
Best for building on a budget
Weebly is a drag-and-drop builder with great features, a large app store, and a range of prices. It's hot on the heels of Squarespace – check out its rating below to see where its strengths lie.
- Cheap plans
- Simple editor
- Dated designs
Free plan available
Paid Plans:
Pros
- Features that grow with you over time
- Budget-friendly price plans
- Larger app store than Squarespace
Cons
- No church-specific templates
- Less creative freedom than Wix
- Lower design quality than Squarespace
Read Review
Weebly Overview
Weebly is perfect if you want simple, stylish designs, and more creative guidance than you'd get with Wix and Squarespace. Its templates are fairly structured – you can't just drag anything anywhere like you can with Wix. This would be frustrating for the creative dreamers among you, but if design is your worst nightmare, it's something of a relief!
Finding your perfect theme might be tricky, as there's no search feature and no community or non-profit website template category to narrow down your options. But with a fairly small range to choose from, it shouldn't take long to find your favorite design.
Because there are no tailored templates, you also don't get tailored features – you'll need to pick your theme carefully to get built-in donation pages, for example. Luckily, you can preview your theme and get a feel for it before committing, and change your theme even after publishing your site.
Weebly Pricing
Weebly has a free plan and three paid plans , ranging from $6 to $26 per month. We don't recommend sticking on the free plan for too long – it has limited features, doesn't let you connect a custom domain, and displays adverts on your site.
For a professional website for your church, you need a paid plan.
We recommend the $12 per month Professional plan because it's the cheapest plan to remove adverts from your website, which is essential for getting taken seriously online. You also unlock features such as a free domain and unlimited storage, which is ideal for uploading media such as sermon recordings or community videos.
The reason we don't recommend the $6 per month Personal plan is because it displays adverts on your site and comes with limited storage space, like the free plan. The Professional plan gives you a much better chance of building a trustworthy and memorable website for your church.
Weebly doesn't offer church-specific templates.
It's easy to add important elements, like this donation button.
On top of its great ease of use, Weebly provides setup guides to help you as you go.
Further Information
- Read our full Weebly Review to find out more about this builder's features, templates, and more
- Do Weebly's prices sound too good to be true? Read our Weebly Pricing Review for more information
#4. Strikingly
Best for ease of use
Strikingly is an easy-to-use builder that can get you online affordably and quickly. Take a look at how we've rated it below!
- Speedy process
- Great support
- Subpar designs
Free plan available
Paid Plans:
Pros
- Really simple template editor
- Great value for money on paid plans
- No real learning curve involved
Cons
- Template designs aren't very unique
- Less customizable than Wix
- Poorer features than other options
Read Review
Strikingly Overview
Strikingly's drag-and-drop editor is similar to Wix's in terms of simplicity, but the end result won't be as nice to look at.
There isn't much variety in Strikingly's templates – they all tend to stick to a similar layout. But while your Strikingly website won't have as much personality as a Wix or Squarespace site, it will cover all of the important bases: Strikingly templates are clean and easy to read, with plenty of focus on images to help you add your own touch.
Strikingly also offers excellent help and support. If you ever get stuck (which isn't likely, considering its top-tier ease of use), you can message the support team via live chat 24/7.
Strikingly Pricing
Strikingly has a free plan, but it'll come with ads at the bottom of your pages, and your domain will look like "yourname.strikingly.com".
To get rid of these features, you can upgrade to a paid plan, the cheapest being the Limited plan which starts at $8 per month. We recommend this plan for church websites, because it's extremely affordable and even lets you build two different websites for the price of one (if you want to!).
Strikingly templates aren't on Squarespace's level, but they still get the job done.
Customize your site with original images.
Strikingly's impressive "happiness officers" are available 24/7 via live chat.
Further Information
- Take a closer look with our Strikingly Review
#5. Jimdo
Best for creating a simple website
Jimdo is a basic website builder that's best for creating simple websites, rather than anything complex or flashy. Continue reading to find out about its strengths and weaknesses.
- Simple editor
- Very structured templates
- Mediocre features
Free plan available
Paid Plans:
Pros
- Getting rid of ads is cheap
- Very hard to make a design mistake
- Affordable prices for basic sites
Cons
- Limited template choices
- Extremely limited customization
- Not as easy to use as Wix
Read Review
Jimdo Overview
Jimdo made our list of the best church website builders because of its simple editor and relatively low starting prices. If you choose this platform, you'll be able to set up a quality website in an afternoon.
That said, only 56% of our users actually recommend Jimdo, and you may have noticed that it ranks last on this list. That's because, if you're going to pay for a website builder, you'll want to be getting your money's worth in terms of designs and features – and Jimdo doesn't have as much to offer in these areas as its competitors.
For example, Jimdo's templates are extremely structured – in other words, you have less freedom to drag-and-drop elements around than you would with, say, Wix. The upside of this is that the rigid templates make it super hard to make a design mistake. But it's also really hard to make your template feel like your own.
Jimdo Pricing
Jimdo's free plan is a good tool to get started with. But it only offers 500 MB of storage, so you'll likely outgrow it pretty quickly.
If you decide to upgrade to a paid Jimdo plan, we recommend the $9 per month Start plan. It's a really good starting price, and comes with a custom domain and the removal of ads, plus a decent amount of storage (5 GB).
Jimdo's templates are all very structured and lack design flare.
Jimdo doesn't have specific resources for church websites, but there is a "nonprofit" option that worked pretty well for us.
Further Information
- Read our Jimdo Review for more details on this builder
Are There Any Other Church Website Builders?
The five builders we've discussed here are the best church website builders – they stand out for their ease of use, top design quality, and powerful value for money.
That said, they're not the only church website builders out there, and it's always worth giving every option a look before making your final choice. So with that in mind, here are a few more platforms that didn't quite make the top five.
1. Sharefaith
Starting price: $50 per month
Sharefaith is a church-specific platform with built-in features, including sections to upload and share sermons. Amongst its many other services, Sharefaith boasts its own church website builder, which has helped over 8,000 ministries create their own websites – that's pretty impressive!
You have the advantage of knowing all Sharefaith's themes will be suitable for a church website – it's just a case of picking one that suits your church and congregation. The designs are pleasing and stylish enough, but can't challenge Squarespace in terms of design.
The downside of Sharefaith is its pricing. To build a website you'll need its "Web + Media" package, which costs $50 per month (billed annually). This includes free hosting, template switching, and a giving and donations platform – all of which you can get with Squarespace or Weebly for a fraction of the price.
2. Ministry Designs
Starting price: $1,000 activation fee, plus $20 per month
Every member of the team at Ministry Designs has a background in church ministry, meaning you get a very tailored service geared towards your specific needs. But what about the tech side of its product?
Ministry Designs' features are pretty standard. They include blogging tools, podcasts, and video backgrounds. Its templates are appealing, if not totally cutting edge in terms of design. All-in-all, there's nothing to write home about, but lots of helpful features to get you started.
Before signing up, make sure you're happy making an investment – Ministry Designs is only a viable option if you have $1,020 ready to pay upfront. You pay $1,000 as a one-time fee, then $20 per month for hosting. This does mean you're not locked into a contract, but this pricing is pretty steep compared to other builders.
3. Nucleus
Starting price: $99 per month
Nucleus promises to be an all-in-one central hub for your church, inspiring action from your followers. Its mission revolves around "Next Steps" to keep new and existing members engaged and active with your church.
While building a central hub may sound complicated, Nucleus makes it easy for everyone with its drag-and-drop design tools and app integrations.
However, all this convenience comes at a price – for the whole package, you'll need a spare $199 per month. The website builder on its own costs $99 per month, so we definitely recommend making use of Nucleus' 30-day free trial first!
Best Church Website Builders: Summary
By now, you should know which of these five builders is the rock you'll build your church website upon.
We've looked at features, designs, pricing, and ease of use for each builder to give you the best idea of which one is right for your church. In case you're suffering from information overload, here's a quick refresher.
5 Best Church Website Builders: Recap
- Wix – best overall church website builder
- Squarespace – best for beautiful designs
- Weebly – best for building on a budget
- Strikingly – best for ease of use
- Jimdo – best for creating a simple website
Whether you're as comfortable with technology as you are with Sunday sermons, or prefer unpacking the complexities of the Bible rather than the mysteries of coding, we've found the best builders for the job.
Best Church Website builders: FAQs
Wix, hands down! It aced the ease of use round in our testing, proving itself to be both extremely beginner friendly and customizable. This is great, as it means you don't have to compromise on quality just because you can't code! Strikingly is also a fantastic choice for ease of use if you want a more simple website, with less creative freedom.
Both Wix and Weebly have free plans, so you can start building your church website without parting with a single cent. We always recommend upgrading to a paid plan for a more professional site – Wix has the cheapest ad-free starting price at $14 per month.
This really depends on your needs – if you value design, for example, Squarespace is better than Sharefaith. If you want very specific help and support, then Ministry Designs or Nucleus will be better than Wix or Weebly.
It's best to keep your domain name short, relevant, and easy to remember! Try to make your domain as close as possible to the actual name of your church – for example, Spires Church might have a website called www.spireschurch.com.
No! Hosting is included in all of the website builders included in our list (except for Ministry Designs), so you don't need to worry about finding your own hosting or paying extra for it. You can just build your site, sit back, and relax, knowing that's all being handled for you.
How To Set Up A Website For My Church
Source: https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders/church/
Posted by: belangermopine.blogspot.com
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