30 Best Church Websites in 2023 (Examples and Inspiration)
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A church’s website is an invaluable communications tool. The website can be extremely useful for helping new people find the church, helping to grow the church of reach more people. The website can also help regular attendees and church members get information on ministries, programs, and events.
Over the past few years, there have been significant changes in the way many churches function. During the COVID-19 pandemic, countless churches began offering online services for the first time. Today, many churches reach people in several different ways (in-person, live streaming, or recordings or services). As a result, a modern church website is more important for the ministry than its ever been in the past.
With that in mind let’s take a detailed look at the subject of church websites and what makes them effective. We’ll also showcase some of the best examples of amazing church websites.
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What Does a Church Website Need?
If you’re designing a church website, there are some specific things you’ll need to keep in mind to maximize its effectiveness. Here are some of the most important elements of church websites.
- Service locations and times should be easy to find.
- Common questions or concerns for first-time visitors should be answered or addressed (parking info, how to dress, what to expect, etc.).
- Access to live online services (if available) should be easy to find, and videos of past services or messages should be accessible.
- The photos, videos, and visual website design should match the church’s character and culture.
- Details on ministries or ways for regular attendees to get more involved should be available.
- Staff photos/bios and doctrinal statements or what the church believes should be provided for those who want to learn more about the church.
- An event calendar should list all activities so members and attendees have a go-to location to know what’s happening in the church.
Best Church Website Examples
Browse through these beautiful church website examples and find inspiration that can be used when creating your own site.
Vineyard Columbus
Built with Squarespace
Vineyard Columbus is a multi-campus church, so its website must provide visitors with an easy way to get the information they’re looking for. On the right side of the primary navigation menu, a “Choose a Campus” drop-down allows the visitor to select a location.
Overall, it’s a beautiful and functional website that provides all of the necessary information.
Why it works:
- Although this is a large site with a lot of content, it’s relatively easy to find what you’re looking for. The navigation is logical and clear.
- The “Watch” and “Join Us Online” buttons make it easy for visitors to experience the church online before visiting in person.
- The design incorporates splashes of color without being overwhelming.
First Church
Built with Squarespace
First Church uses a clean layout and a basic black & white color scheme. The photos and images used throughout the site add visual appeal.
This great website is simple and clearly focused on helping people who may be new to the church, and important details are easy to find. This is one of the best ways to help online visitors to feel welcome and encouraged to visit in person.
Why it works:
- The Sunday morning service time and button to watch a live service immediately stand out as soon as you visit the site.
- The “I’m New” button in the navigation menu is in button format, helping it to draw attention. This page provides the relevant information that church visitors need to know.
- Navigating the site is easy. The menu provides links to the most important pages, and a few of the top-level items open drop-downs for more options.
Crossroads Church
The Crossroads Church website design features a full-width background video that showcases the character and culture of the church. Visitors can easily watch a service or browse through content from other recent services.
Why it works:
- Church service content is easy to find. The “watch service now” call to action button on the homepage encourages clicks, and videos of other recent services can be found just below the fold.
- The primary navigation menu has been simplified, with only four top-level links and no dropdowns. The hamburger icon opens a secondary menu with more options.
- The design and layout of the site is very clean, which helps the images and videos to stand out.
Heritage Church
Built with Squarespace
Heritage Church uses a full-screen background video that moves very fast from one scene to the next. We’ll see a similar approach from several other sites on this list.
The video clips showcase moments from church services, service projects, and churchgoers interacting with friends. The full range of clips help to showcase what life at Heritage Church is like.
Why it works:
- The homepage includes two call-to-action buttons. The “plan your visit” button is for people who are new to the church, while the “watch live” button is mostly for people who already attend or are familiar with the church.
- The church’s three locations and worship service teams are clearly listed just below the featured video on the homepage.
- The “ministries” link in the navigation menu opens a drop-down with all of the church’s ministries. This makes it simple for visitors to see what the church offers.
Bay Area Christian Church
This church site features a beautiful full-screen photo of the Bay Bridge, an iconic scene in the Bay Area. This is a slightly different approach than the images and videos used by most churches on this list.
Why it works:
- The “I’m New” link in the navigation menu includes several sub-items. These details will answer almost any question a new visitor would have about attending the church for the first time.
- The website design uses ample whitespace to prevent clutter, offering a positive user experience.
- Finding service locations and times is easy thanks to a link in the primary navigation menu and a CTA button on the homepage.
Hillsong Church
Global megachurch Hillsong uses a full-screen background video on the homepage of this modern design. Many of the scenes showcase church attenders worshipping.
While the website of a smaller local church may be a lot different than this one, you can still pick up plenty of inspiration and ideas here.
Why it works:
- As you would expect from a global church with many locations, this website includes a lot of content. The drop-down navigation menu does a good job of helping visitors find what they’re looking for.
- The site’s footer also includes an extensive navigation menu.
- Hillsong is known for its music, and the “music” link in the primary navigation opens up to several different pages with more detailed info.
The Compass Church
Built with Squarespace
The Compass Church homepage features a full-screen background photo from one of their services. The navigation menu is simple, with a few drop-downs for most of the top-level links. Social media icons are also included in the header, making it easy for visitors to connect and follow.
Why it works:
- The “This Sunday” button in the header leads to a very helpful page with all kinds of details that will be helpful for first-time visitors who are looking for a church.
- The latest sermon video is embedded below the fold on the homepage. There’s also a link to view more messages from the series and all sermons.
- A prayer request form near the bottom of the homepage shows that The Compass Church is compassionate and caring.
12Stone Church
This is a large church with eight locations and a lot of content on the site. Despite the amount of content, they’ve taken steps to simplify the user experience and avoid overwhelm. The navigation menu is simplified. “Give” and “connect” are the only options, until you open the full menu by clicking on the hamburger icon.
Why it works:
- The video of a recent message is the first thing you see when you visit the homepage. This makes it easy for attenders and visitors to catch the latest message at any time.
- High-quality photos and videos are used throughout the site, complimenting the site’s beautiful design.
- The site’s footer includes a helpful navigation menu separated into categories or sections.
Hill City Church
Built with Squarespace
Hill City Church’s website does a great job of making it seem like a fun place to attend. The homepage features a full-screen video with confetti, dancing, and lots of energy. The “Who We Are” page showcases colorful, playful photos of the staff, unlike any you’ll see at other church websites.
Why it works:
- The “Get Involved” button leads to a page with details on many ways attendees can take the next step with the church and get involved. Getting people actively involved in the church is critical, so prioritizing this page makes sense.
- The site helps first-time visitors feel welcomed with the headline “We’re stoked you’re here.” Below the fold, the “You’re invited” section includes details and another welcoming message.
- Church attendees and visitors can easily watch services online.
Canyon Ridge Christian Church
Built with Squarespace
Canyon Ridge Christian Church’s website is very well-done. The images look great, it’s well-designed, it’s not cluttered, and you can find anything you’re looking for. Overall, it’s one of my favorite church web designs.
Why it works:
- The high-quality photos add to the visual appeal of this well-designed site.
- The homepage includes a welcome message from the church’s pastor, which can help visitors to feel more connected.
- There’s a decent amount of content on the site, but they’ve broken it down into four primary sections, with a drop-down menu for easy navigation.
First Baptist Dallas
First Baptist Church in Dallas uses a red, white, and blue color scheme and lots of large images. You’ll see photos of the pastor, the services, and the church’s amazing facility.
This is a large site with a lot of pages, but the drop-down navigation and secondary menus aim to provide ease of use.
Why it works:
- Calls to action on the homepage make it easy to watch the latest message or plan an upcoming visit.
- The “Plan Your Visit” page includes a lot of information, including a helpful map.
- The website design includes a header bar that the church can use to promote upcoming events or direct attention to anything important.
Gas Street Church
Built with Squarespace
This great church website uses a black and white color scheme with lots of photos. Overall, the site is well-designed and clean.
Why it works:
- All the photos on this site have a similar style and feel, which helps to present a professional-looking website.
- The navigation menu is fairly simple, but the “Connect” link opens up a mega menu with many options to help attenders and visitors get connected.
- The “Visit” link provides all the important details related to service locations and times, plus transportation and parking information.
Outward Church
Outward Church uses the homepage to make a clear statement about it’s purpose and reason for existence.
Unlike many of the other church websites showcased here, the recent sermons aren’t prioritized in the design and layout. Visitors can listen to messages from the website, but the link is under “Resources” in the navigation menu, making it somewhat hidden.
Why it works:
- Overall, this site is well-designed and provides visitors with the information they need. The “Plan Your Visit” helps first-time visitors to know what they should expect from a Sunday service.
- The options under “Connect” in the navigation menu are ideal for attenders who want to get involved.
- The Events page includes a calendar with featured events and the option to view all events by month.
Mariners Church
Mariners Church offers a beautifully-designed website with lots of visuals, including high-quality photos and professional videos. This is a multi-location church, and the drop-down link in the menu makes it easy to find details of each location.
Why it works:
- The latest message is easily accessible from the homepage with a play button that draws the viewer’s eye.
- The primary navigation menu is fairly simple, but the hamburger icon opens a full menu with access to categorized content.
- The site’s footer includes details on all of the locations and service times.
The Church at Rancho Bernardo
Built with Squarespace
The Church at Rancho Bernardo uses a full-width video on the homepage to show many clips church attendees interacting and serving.
Why it works:
- A video of the most recent service is embedded on the homepage, just below the fold. This makes it easy for attendees who may have missed the latest service to catch up, and it’s also helpful for those who are new to the church.
- This church gives off a very community-oriented and service-focused feel based on the messaging and visuals used throughout the site.
- The “Join Us Sunday” button leads to a page with relevant details for first-time visitors.
Renew Church
Built with Squarespace
This site features a unique design that’s unlike most church websites you’ll come across. This unique approach helps the church to stand out to those who are researching churches online.
Why it works:
- Navigating the site is simple and clear.
- The Sermons page links to several platforms that visitors can use to listen to recent messages. This includes Facebook, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
- Ministry information is easy to find, which simplifies the process of getting involved.
Pillar Church
Built with the Divi WordPress Theme
Pillar Church is another one that uses a unique design. It’s one of the few church websites you’ll come across that doesn’t include a photo or video above the fold on the homepage.
Why it works:
- A video of the latest message can be found on the homepage, below the fold.
- The “New Here?” button stands out, partly due to the gradient background. Clicking this button leads to a page with plenty of details for guests, including answers to many questions.
- Upcoming events are listed on the homepage, just below the fold.
The Hill Church
The Hill Church has a great website with a full-screen background video. This approach is used by several of the sites in this showcase. However, The Hill Church stands out by showing clips of people from the church interacting. They’re walking on the street, talking in a city market, and engaging in other life activities.
There are no clips of church services, worship/music, or other scenes that you’ll see at many church websites. These clips send a message that The Hill Church is about the people who attend and that they prioritize friendships and relationships.
Why it works:
- The video clips and photos on the site show a truly multi-cultural church, which helps all website visitors to feel like they’ll fit in.
- The videos footage is high-quality. This creates a strong first impression and helps the site to look great.
- A video of the latest service is available on the home page just below the fold, and services can be streamed live on Sundays.
Bethel Church
Bethel is a large and well-known church with a beautiful and professional website. This is a big ministry with many different programs and schools, so the site must be well-structured to help visitors find what they’re looking for.
Why it works:
- I love the blue bar just below the header. The color immediately draws your eye, so they can use this space to promote upcoming events of other important details.
- There are two CTA buttons displayed on top of the video on the homepage. One button helps visitors who want to attend a service in-person, and the other provides access to online services and videos of past services.
- Bethel provides content in various formats, so there’s something for everyone. This includes Bethel.tv and Bethel Podcasts, which distributes the message in eight languages.
Lakemount Worship Centre
Lake Mount Worship Centre’s website opens with a full-screen background video that shows the church building and members arriving for a Sunday morning service. The design uses splashes or orange for buttons and other elements that must stand out.
Why it works:
- The worship service times are immediately visible as soon as you visit the site’s homepage. The website also has a call-to-action button for those who want to watch the service live online.
- This is a fairly large site with a lot of pages, but the drop-down navigation menu is well-structured and easy to use.
- Secondary pages include a lot of photos and visuals, in addition to plenty of text.
Red Rocks Church
Red Rocks Church is known for its worship band, so it’s not surprising that the band is featured on the site’s homepage. The text “Welcome Home” provides a quick, powerful message to new visitors.
Why it works:
- A video of the most recent service is embedded on the home page, just below the fold.
- A list of all the church’s ministries is provided on the homepage. These clickable links lead to dedicated pages with more details on the ministry.
- Red Rocks Church provides content and services in several formats, including in-person, live streaming through the website, YouTube live, and the church app.
First United Methodist
First United Methodist Church located in Kearney, MO is a single-location church with an excellent website. Like many others, the site opens with a full-screen video showing scenes from church services and featuring friendly churchgoers.
Why it works:
- The purple background on the “I’m New” link in the navigation menu helps it to stand out. A white button with the text “New Here?” is also shown on top of the video. This makes it clear that the church is very welcoming to guests.
- The “Worship Online” link in the navigation menu leads to a page with a link to the live streaming of Sunday services, plus previous messages.
- The “Connect” and “Events” pages provide details and information for church members and attenders who want to get involved.
Eastridge Church
Built with the Divi WordPress Theme
Eastridge is a multi-location church. The structure is similar to what we’ve seen from many other sites on this list, with a homepage video, drop-down navigation menu, and CTA buttons that link to info on services.
Why it works:
- Service locations and times are easy to find, thanks to the buttons on the homepage and the “Visit” link in the menu.
- All the church’s ministries are listed in the drop-down menu and information is easily accessible.
- Online services are easily accessible through the button on top of the video or the “Watch” link in the header menu.
Fellowship Dallas
Fellowship Dallas has a website that looks great and is well-structured. The site includes a lot of photos and videos for visual interest, and the content is easy to find thanks to a logical and user-friendly drop-down navigation menu.
Why it works:
- The Church service time is listed on top of the background video, with buttons to learn more or watch online.
- The “Next Steps” link in the navigation menu provides access to the content church members and attenders will need if they want to get more involved.
- The “Plan a Visit” page provides all the details first-time visitors will need, including answers to some common questions.
Christ Unveiled Ministries
Instead of showing a video on the homepage, Christ Unveiled Ministries rotates through a series of photos. The call-to-action buttons provide easy access to details about visiting in-person or watching online.
Why it works:
- As you scroll down the page, the sticky navigation menu makes it easy to navigate the site without needing to scroll back to the top.
- Below the fold on the homepage, you’ll find a brief video that welcomes visitors and encourages them to come for a Sunday service.
- The “Plan a Visit” page helps visitors know what to expect when they attend for the first time.
Faith Community Church
This is a multi-location church that also streams services from two locations each Sunday. The church locations and service times are clearly listed.
Why it works:
- The green color is used throughout the site for buttons and other elements that need to stand out.
- The “Messages” and “Connect” buttons are green, while the “Give” button is not. This helps to show that the church is more concerned with reaching people than it is with getting their money.
- The text on this site, including the navigation menu, is large and easy to read.
Pathway Church
Built with Squarespace
Pathway Church has an attractive website that uses a full-screen background photo. The color scheme and structure of the site are fairly simple, helping to provide a positive user expenerince.
One detail I’m not crazy about with this site is that there are two CTA buttons on the homepage to encourage giving. While this is an important function of a church website, prioritizing the giving link over all of the others sends the wrong message, in my opinion.
Why it works:
- The “plan your visit” link in the navigation menu leads to a page with the basic details for first-time visitors.
- Campus locations are listed on the homepage, and visitors can also click the “locations & service times” call-to-action (CTA) button.
- Recent sermon videos are available below the fold on the homepage.
River Valley Church
River Valley is a multi-location church with a website that features video clips of worship and other high-energy scenes. Details for each location are available from the “Locations” drop-down in the header.
Why it works:
- The navigation menu has been simplified with only a few top-level links. Hovering over one of the three links to the left side of the header opens a mega menu with structured and well-organized sub-navigation.
- Lots of high-quality photos and videos help to make a strong impression.
- The site presents a monthly Scripture reading plan that people can follow along with each day.
Cornerstone Church
Cornerstone presents a visually-appealing church website with many photos and a fun color scheme.
Why it works:
- Online services are easy to find with a link to watch live or to join via Facebook Live.
- Below the fold on the homepage, you’ll see the sub-header, “Ways to get involved.” This section displays information about ministries and other opportunities.
- Services and times are easy to find through a link in the site’s header.
Neighborhood Church Ocala
Built with Squarespace
The website of Neighborhood Church in Ocala, FL is relative small compared to some of the other sites we’ve looked at. However, it includes all of the important information and is well-structured.
Why it works:
- The navigation menu is clear, so it’s easy for website visitors to find what they need.
- The “Plan a Visit” button in the header stands out and immediately grabs attention. The linked page provides all the details a first-time visitor will need.
- Videos of past messages can be found through the “Watch a Message” link in the header.
Final Thoughts on Church Websites
An effective website is a necessity for modern churches. With more people watching church services via live streaming or recordings, the website is now a significant aspect of the regular worship of members and attendees.
Hopefully, the top church websites showcased in this article provide plenty of web design inspiration you can use if you’re create a site for your church or for a client.