How to Build a Church Website in One Day
by Kim LintonPosted in Church Planting 9 Comments
When my husband and I first decided to launch Ministrymaker, I knew absolutely nothing about HTML or building websites. Since then I’ve learned how important it is to have a professional online presence – not only for businesses, but especially for churches, ministries and non-profit organizations.
Eventually, pastors and church leaders started asking me to help set up ministry and non-profit websites for their groups and congregations. After spending an enormous amount of time helping people learn in a few months what had taken me years to figure out, I wondered if there was an easier way to build and maintain a website without going through the pain of learning HTML.
Then I discovered website builders. Website builders come in different forms, but are basically template-based services that allow users to build and maintain their website through an online control panel and/or program installed on their computer. While I’ve experimented with different site builders over the years, one that has received good reviews from pastors and friends who have tried it is WebSite Tonight by GoDaddy.
Another website builder I used to recommend is Homestead – but unfortunately their customer service is horrible now (according to friends who have used it) and their plans cost quite a bit more than GoDaddy’s.
With GoDaddy’s website builder you sign up for an account, register your domain name (if you don’t already have one), pick a template, upload your personal information and photos, and then publish your site on the Internet. From start to finish it’s possible to have a live website up and running within a few hours.
The cost to build a website and have it hosted on GoDaddy starts at $4.99 per month – what many companies charge for web hosting alone. GoDaddy’s economy plan is more than adequate for most churches and non-profits. The plan includes a five page website, 1 GB storage, 150 GB bandwidth, and an email account.
After you pick a template you can change colors, upload photos, and add information about your church or ministry. Once the site is finished, you can add your web address to business cards, stationary, mailers, brochures — and even news releases about special events your ministry may be having.
Click here for more information about GoDaddy’s WebSite Tonight.
About Kim Linton
Kim Linton began her writing career in 2001 as a contributor for Ministrymaker Magazine. Kim's work has since been published on a variety of websites including Woman's Day and Intel, and featured on several news sites including USA Today, Yahoo! News and The Wall Street Journal.9 responses to “How to Build a Church Website in One Day”
WordPress is a great platform to use for a website. While viewed as a blog platform, wordpress can easiliy be customized as a more traditional website feel. I use the thesis theme which works great.
You might try setting up a blog as a website. I have both websites and blogs. As co-founder and coordinator of the Christian Fiction Review Blog I’ve grown accustomed to Blogger.Com. With a blog you can link other internal blogs the same way you would web pages. You use templates just like you would with most website builders. Bogger has this neat little thing where you can look at the layout and arrange things the way you want to (within reason). The really BIG plus is that there are NO advertisements unless you choose to put them there. The one drawback is it takes a little planning to create a blog that is really a website. You have your main blog, which in a sitebuilder is called your home or index page. From there you have links to other blogs which are really part of the same blog, just as web pages are part of the same site. It can seem a little confusing at first, but it can be done.
I am Rev yousaf musrat I having service to in church 50 year’s ago and I am make to many disciples of Christ and send them for field works they are win thousands souls for Christ, our vision got world wide as his witness, we are believe to Matthew 28:19-20 we are spreading good seed in Pakistan.
bookmarked your page just to find that website builder again
Thanx for the article Kim. I believe it will be of great help to us. I thank God for leading us to Ministrymaker’s website. You and Rev Gary are a really blessing to us. May the Lord keep you and bless you and your family. Hope to see you oneday in South Africa when our Church has grown. You are indeed our inspiration, Remain Blessed!!!!
We are conveying your good wishes in the name of Jesus Christ. Greetings to you in His Sacred Name. Good greetings of to you. We are writing from our Banjara Tribal as the pastor’s team and our church believers. We are safe, and hope are you. We hope that god will grant you happiness, health and wealth through out your life.
Building a Church needs your church to have a Creed. I suggest using what the Western Christians call the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which we, Eastern Christians call “Athanasian Creed” or “Syrian Creed” or “Nestorian Creed”.
great post as usual!
Absolutely a sterling article Kim on one of the best site builders I have ever seen. This could make a huge difference in today’s html-oriented world. Nicely done. I am going to try to test this out to see if it is possible to build one for a homeless resource center for those who drop thru the cracks of social services.