Over the weekend I saw a pastor post on social media that all the visitors to his church in the last year had perused the church website before visiting in person.
Why? Because church websites are a congregation’s new front door.
So the question become this: Is your church website inviting? And does it provide the information that guests and members are seeking?
Or does it list events that are long over, if not photos of congregation youngsters who are now in college?
Several weeks ago I led two workshops on church websites at the e-Formation Conference hosted by The Center for the Ministry of Teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary. Specifically, I focused on building websites using the WordPress platform, highlighting tips we’ve learned here at Faith Growth while building church websites for our clients.
Below are the audio recordings and slides from those presentations.
Overview of the WordPress for Church Websites Workshops
Part 1
WordPress, one of the world’s most powerful, but easy-to-use website platforms, is ideal for church websites. Here you’ll learn the three pieces of information critical on your home page, as well as good design basics, effective messaging, and workflow/updates.
Drawing on my years of WordPress coding and design, I share how to make your church website an integral part of digital church ministry.
Part 2
Plugins are one reason WordPress has become one of the world’s most powerful website framework platforms. Here I discuss how plugins easily and exponentially expand functionality, turning church websites into robust ministry tools. And I highlight the plugins church ministries need most: donations, information distribution and sharing, calendars, and staff and/or congregational directories.
Workshop Slides
All links are below in the links section.
Listen to the Workshops
Harnessing the Power of WordPress for Church Websites Part I: Themes
Harnessing the Power of WordPress for Church Websites Part II: Plugins
Links to Resources:
WordPress Training
Themes
Website Maintenance
- WP Attendant (includes free hosting)
Website Hosting
Domain Registration
Email Hosting
Email Distribution Service
Plugins
- Gravity Forms – contact, registration forms, etc.
- Church Themes Content – directory, people & groups, basic sermon handling, basic events handling
- Contact Forms 7
- Give – online donations
- WordPress SEO by Yoast
- Google Analytics by Yoast
- Akismet – anti-spam
- Chat Box – great to add next to live stream events
- Widget Logic – control where widgets appear
- Sucri Scan – security
- Soliloquy – slider
- Podcasting – auto delivery to iTunes & Stitcher
What plugins are you using on your church website? Leave a comment below to share your favorite WordPress plugins.
Faith Growth, based in Dallas, Texas, helps churches to succeed at digital communications. We help churches to effectively use technology for ministry, and to cultivate and connect both their online and offline communities. Contact Faith Growth. We’d love the opportunity to help you build a new website, if not your full digital strategy.