In other posts within the websites category, we have told you what we think makes for a good church website and recommended some vendors to help you create one. Now we want to share a handful of local church websites, from all sizes of churches, that we think are excellent. Perhaps looking at these will help you determine which elements you want your website to have or how to make improvements to it.

  1. The Grove (Woodbury & Cottage Grove). What we like about it: The website is attractive and easy to navigate, but we especially appreciate the “New With Us” page and what a fantastic job it does articulating the vision of the church and the purpose and flow of worship. We also think the chat function is pretty great and love the four categories of ways to get involved.
  2. Centennial UMC (Roseville & St. Paul). What we like about it: It’s clean, easy to navigate, and you immediately get a sense for what the congregation is about through the images on the home page. The “For New Guests” page is extremely well done, and we love the “Centennial in Action”/ “Give & Serve” page because it is a call to action that provides a wide range of opportunities to get involved.
  3. Community UMC (Monticello). The home page drone video footage is really cool, and the side-panel navigation here is different from the other websites on this list but still very effective. Plus, the three primary buttons (to learn more, stream, and give) are great calls to action, and as you scroll down, you get a great taste of the congregation—from the latest sermon to recent breakthrough prayers to upcoming events.
  4. First UMC (Austin). What we like about it: The home page video background gives you a visual sneak peek at worship, the navigation is simple and intuitive, the online worship button is prominent, there’s a nice welcome note, and you can immediately identify several ways to get involved.
  5. Open Doors UMC (Kiester & Wells). This is an incredibly simple template-based website but it works. All of the most important pages and information are there, from the latest worship services to the church’s ministry offerings to upcoming events. For congregations that are limited on funds to create a website and/or time to update it, look no further. A website doesn’t have to be overly flashy or expensive to get the job done.