10 Best Church Website Builders
We live in a digital world. It’s a fact of life, and if your church hasn’t adapted to this reality, you’re going to have a difficult time spreading God’s word. As it turns out, there are a variety of reasons your ministry should have a website. From connecting with your parishioners to spreading your mission to the world, there are countless things you can do online to grow your ministry.
If you’re looking to create or improve upon your small corner of the web, it’s important to choose from the best church website builders. While there are many options out there, a specific few are more geared towards leaders of the cloth. Consider all your options before making a choice, and this will improve your outcomes when utilizing the DonorWerx Strategic Development Process.
Before Choosing the Best Church Website Builder
Before delving into the best options for creating or refining your church’s website, it’s important to first understand what your site should do. If it doesn’t meet the following requirements, the greatest digital tools in the universe are unlikely to help:
- Tell the world why your church is different.
- Provide a secure connection so visitors aren’t blocked from the site.
- Always remain truthful in your statement.
- Welcome interested individuals and visitors.
- Answer common questions.
- Keep the website up to date.
- Ensure ease in navigation and user-friendliness.
- Provide clear and concise information.
- Link to social media accounts (e.g. YouTube for virtual church services).
- Ensure mobile friendliness.
Over 18 million new website registrations occur yearly, and since the number of American ministries increased by 50,000 between 1998 and 2017, you’ll undoubtedly have plenty of competition. If your website doesn’t accomplish the aforementioned requirements, potential newcomers will likely find one that does.
Fortunately, you can meet all these requirements with the following tools.
1. Wix
If you perform research on the best church website builders, you’ll undoubtedly come across Wix. This platform is popular in all industries, and that’s because the platform offers simplicity of use. Even inexperienced users can easily build a beautiful website.
This resource utilizes artificial design intelligence (ADI) to handle most of the work for you, and this includes a large array of preset layouts you can use. You can also find guides on their website that will help with everything from basic setup to creating a blog for your church.
2. Finalweb
Another great option for beginners is Finalweb. The platform is geared towards church leaders, and many claim to have set up a full site in as little as five minutes. Regardless of how long it takes, you’ll find a straightforward and convenient system to construct your website.
You’ll also find swappable themes, adaptable media, unlimited updates and even the ability to create podcasts. When it comes to platforms focused on ministries, Finalweb might just be the best church website builder available.
3. Sharefaith
Another popular platform among God’s chosen leaders is Sharefaith. As the name implies, their focus is on congregations. Over 8,000 churches use the service, and this can be attributed to an easy drag-and-drop design feature. There’s no need to understand any type of coding. Worship Leader Magazine granted the platform the Best of the Best Award for nine straight years.
4. Webstarts
While you won’t often find Webstarts on lists of the best church website builders – since they work with more than just churches – you will find customizable themes that make your ministry stand out from others. There is a section of basic religious-themed templates, and you can change them as you see fit.
The software is free to use, and there are only three steps necessary to get up and running. After choosing and modifying your favorite layout, you simply need to select your domain name. Webstarts also provides the webhosting that every site needs. The savings you’ll find on this platform will leave more money for giving back to donors and performing God’s work.
5. Churchikon
When it comes to achieving a mobile-friendly website, Churchikon is one of the best options you’ll find. The platform is cross-browser compatible, and if this wasn’t enough to make it one of the best church website builders, its startup cost of “free” should do the trick.
Churchikon also offers an easy map feature that will guide new visitors to your congregation, and live event tools will keep all your parishioners informed. This is another template-based resource, so building a professional-looking website doesn’t take any time at all.
6. Mission
One of your church’s main goals is to spread the Word of God, and the Mission platform makes this simpler than ever. The easy drag-and-drop tool combined with church management software means you can do just about anything you can imagine within your digital world. There are three plans to choose from, and you’ll have 30 days to try one out before purchasing anything.
7. Church Web Builder
Some platforms have you create a website before showing you their pricing plans, but Church Web Builder doesn’t work this way. They want you to know exactly what you’re getting before you devote any time or resources. What may be the greatest feature of this platform, though, is that the best features are included in every plan.
What type of tools? Think unlimited pages, search engine optimization (SEO), event calendars, email campaigns and more. You’ll also get 3GB of storage, and the available designs will not count towards your overall limit. If you want to go even further, you can also add an online store or get the benefits of church surveys.
8. Ministry Designs
If you want to share everything with your congregants and website visitors, Ministry Designs might be your best option. This fact is owed to the platform offering unlimited file uploads. You’ll never have to worry about coding thanks to the “ready, set, go” features, and the drag-and-drop tool makes this resource as simple to operate as any of its competitors.
You’ll also find tools that will manage monthly offerings and track income. You won’t find this advanced option among most of the best church website builders, and when used in conjunction with the DonorWerx Strategic Development Process, you’ll be able to watch you hard work pay off through increased revenue and donor engagement in real time.
9. uKit
If you’ve fallen in love with the idea of using easy drag-and-drop tools, uKit is another great option you should consider. It just takes a few minutes to get your website up and running, and there are a variety of design templates to choose from. You’ll also have access to resources that can help you promote your website, build upon your initial framework, and create an online store.
uKit isn’t geared to just ministry websites, but with over 350 designs, you’ll easily be able to find something that works. If you have a bit of design experience, you can also start from scratch with any template you desire.
10. Doodlekit
You’ll find that many of the best church website builders offer free services – as long as you pay for webhosting. This isn’t the case at Doodlekit. You’ll find a free version to build your site along with complimentary hosting.
There are more advanced features that require you to upgrade, but if you’re simply looking to get a good start, Doodlekit is the place to do so. You’ll also find that the advanced features are competitively priced, so it’s good to know the company isn’t trying to get rich off your ministry.
What’s the Best Church Website Builder For You?
There are numerous platforms that some may refer to as the best church website builder, but it’s important that you don’t let others make this decision for you. While seeking out reviews is a good idea, remember that the resource you eventually choose must be right for your ministry. Focus on finding a platform that meets your specific needs, and you will have made the right choice.