Church web hosting: what a small church actually needs
A small church website needs less hosting than most plans sell: a domain registered in the church's name, a secure (HTTPS) site that works on a phone, backups, and a way for a volunteer to keep service times and events current. Christian web hosts offer the same technology as any other host, often with church templates and faith-friendly policies. The bigger choice is how the site gets updated, because an out-of-date website turns away more guests than a slow one. Churchory's Church Websites, in beta and not on sale yet, will include hosting and SSL when it launches.
What is church web hosting?
Church web hosting is the service that stores your church's website and shows it to anyone who types your address or finds you in a search. Every website needs hosting. The real question for a small church is whether you rent hosting on its own and build the site on top, or use a website builder where the hosting is part of the package and there is nothing separate to look after.
For most small churches, the website has one main job: helping a first-time guest decide to come on Sunday. That shapes what you actually need from hosting, and it is a lot less than most hosting plans try to sell you.
What does a small church website actually need?
Six things, and none of them is exotic:
- A domain the church owns. Something like yourchurch.org, registered in the church's name.
- A secure site (HTTPS). Browsers warn visitors away from sites without it, and Google has used HTTPS as a ranking signal since 2014. Certificates are free from services like Let's Encrypt, so no host should charge extra for one.
- A site that works on a phone. Most guests will look you up on a phone, often in the parking lot.
- Backups. If a volunteer deletes the wrong page, you should be able to get it back.
- Someone who can update it. A pastor or volunteer should be able to change service times without calling the person who built the site.
- A handful of pages. Service times and location, what to expect on a first visit, kids and youth, upcoming events, how to give, and how to get in touch. That covers most of what a guest is looking for.
Things you usually do not need: unlimited storage, dozens of email accounts on the same plan, or a dedicated server. A small church site is a few pages and some photos.
What is Christian web hosting?
"Christian web hosting" usually means hosting from a company that focuses on churches and ministries. What you tend to get is church website templates, content policies that fit a faith community, and support staff who understand what a church site is for. Some also bundle sermon pages or online giving links.
The technology underneath is the same as any other host, so judge a Christian host on the same things as any other: security, backups, support, and above all how easy it is for your volunteers to keep the site up to date. A faith-friendly company is a good reason to choose between two equal options, not a reason to accept a site nobody on your team can edit.
What are the main ways to host a church website?
| Option | Who keeps it running | Good fit if |
|---|---|---|
| A hosting plan with WordPress or similar | You: updates, plugins, security patches and backups | someone on your team enjoys this and will be around for years |
| A general website builder (hosting included) | The builder | you want a polished site and someone will update events by hand |
| A church website builder (hosting included) | The builder | you want church templates and features like sermons or a plan-a-visit form |
| A website connected to your church software | The software | you want events, groups and service details to update themselves |
The first option gives you the most control and the most work. Plugins go out of date, and an unmaintained site is the easiest kind to break into. If the person who set it up moves away, the church inherits a system nobody understands. The other options trade some control for a site a volunteer can look after.
What should you ask before choosing a church web host?
- Who owns the domain, and who can log in? Register it in the church's name, with a shared church email address and at least two people who can sign in.
- Is HTTPS included at no extra cost? It should be.
- How are backups done, and can we restore one ourselves?
- Can we take our content with us if we leave? Ask how you would export your pages and photos.
- How does a volunteer change the service times? Ask to see it done. If it takes more than a couple of minutes, it will not happen every time it should.
- Where do events come from? If every event has to be typed into the website as well as into your calendar or church software, the website will fall behind.
- What does support look like on a Saturday night? Find out who answers, and how.
Why do church websites go out of date?
Because updating the website is a second job. The events are already in the church calendar, the groups are already in a spreadsheet, and the bulletin is already written, so the website only gets updated when someone remembers. That is how a guest ends up reading about last spring's Easter services in October.
The fix is fewer places to type things. Whichever host you choose, link to the pages your church software already keeps current instead of copying them onto the site. Churchory, for example, gives you public links you can put on any website today: event pages that guests can register on without an account (see online event registration), a public give page, the weekly digital bulletin and meal train share links from Care.
Where Churchory fits
We are building a church website that keeps itself up to date, called Church Websites. It is in beta with a small number of churches and not on sale yet, so we will not pretend it is ready for you today. It is planned to fill itself in from the products you already run, with this week's events, the groups with room and the latest bulletin, on your own domain, with a plan-a-visit page for guests. Hosting and SSL are part of the product, so once it launches there is no separate web host to set up or renew. When it launches, it will be included in Churchory One.
If that sounds like what your church needs, join the Church Websites waitlist and we will tell you the day it opens. In the meantime, the six-point list above will serve you well with any host. If you are choosing your church software at the same time, see church management software for small churches.
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Frequently asked questions
What is church web hosting?
Church web hosting is the service that stores your church's website and serves it to visitors on your domain, such as yourchurch.org. It can be a plain hosting plan you install a site on yourself, or hosting that comes built into a website builder, so there is nothing separate to manage.
What is Christian web hosting?
Christian web hosting is web hosting sold by companies that serve churches and ministries, often with church website templates, content policies that fit a faith community, and support staff who understand church needs. The underlying technology is the same as any other host, so compare it on the same things: security, backups, support and how easy the site is to update.
Does a small church need its own web hosting plan?
Not necessarily. Many small churches are better served by a website builder that includes hosting, so there are no server updates, plugins or security patches for a volunteer to keep up with. A separate hosting plan makes sense when someone on your team wants full control, for example to run WordPress.
Who should own the church's domain name?
The church. Register the domain in the church's name, with a shared church email address and a church payment method, not a volunteer's personal account. Domains lost when a volunteer moves away are one of the most common and most painful small-church website problems.
Does Churchory offer church web hosting?
Not yet. Churchory's Church Websites product is in beta with a small number of churches and is not on sale. When it launches, hosting and SSL are included, so there is no separate web host to set up or renew, and the site fills itself in from your events, groups and bulletin, on your own domain. You can join the waitlist on the Church Websites page, and it will be included in Churchory One.
Who is Churchory for?
Churchory is for small and mid-size churches, and especially for the pastors, church administrators and ministry leaders who run them with a few staff and a lot of volunteers. Nothing in it assumes a full-time IT person: the kiosk, the sign-up links and the apps are built for the volunteer who was trained once and is standing at a table at 9:58 on a Sunday.
Who can see what? We have volunteers.
You decide, with roles you name yourself. Each role is a grid of 23 areas, each set to one of four levels (none, view, manage what you're assigned to, or manage everything), so a group leader can manage their own group and nothing else, and a kids volunteer never sees a giving record. Church settings and billing are administrator-only and can't be granted through a role at all.