The Best Church Website CMS
What is a Church Website CMS?
A content management system (CMS) does exactly what you'd expect it to. It provides a way for you to manage the content on your website.
I highly recommend not only insisting that your church website be built on a CMS, but also testing a demo of the CMS before committing to it. Don't make a decision based solely on a bullet point feature list littered with words like "easy" and "intuitive".
Take the CMS for a spin and try actually building a page with it.
So, what is the best CMS for churches?
This is one of these questions that has to be answered with an annoying "it depends." There are just too many different types of churches to declare a "one for all" solution.
CHURCH CMS SOLUTIONS
WordPress-Based:
Other Open Source:
Proprietary:
Too many times a provider is chosen based on low priority factors. If you find yourself Googling "Cheapest church websites" or "coolest church CMS" right out of the gate, slow down a little.
When deciding on a CMS for your church, you should ask these questions first.
Who will manage the website?
If you have a medium to large church with a solid group of young, technically savvy staff and volunteers, maybe a more advanced CMS would be suitable. By all means, geek out on features and get a flexible CMS so they can express their creativity.
However, if you're like most churches with small numbers, few or no staff, and older volunteers, you've got to choose a CMS that takes the guesswork out of content management.
Don't make Memaw responsible for theme and plugin updates on your church's Wordpress install. She's fantastic at letter writing and spoiling the grandkids, but not so savvy with tweaking CSS and PHP versioning.
You've got to choose a CMS that is simple and easy for a non-tech person to handle.
Can I get help when I need it?
Sometimes church website providers love to talk to you during the sales process, but afterward they're harder to find than children's ministry workers. I'm not saying they're bad people, they just haven't prioritized customer support.
Do your homework, and see what kind of real-world support other churches are getting from your potential church web services provider. Making a couple of 2-minute phone calls beforehand can save you a lot of frustration later.
Does the CMS provider have online support chat? Phone support? Email support?
These will be important when things go south.
Has the CMS provider been around awhile?
Everyone has to start somewhere. Even the most stable businesses have more new businesses at once.
However, statistics tell us that around 1/3 of new business startups collapse within 2 years and 1/2 fail within their first 5 years.
In the internet tech world, these numbers can be even more volatile.
Choosing a provider that has some longevity under their belt can bring needed peace of mind and make it more likely that you'll be able to benefit from their experience and professional care for years to come.
Is the CMS provider a Christian organization?
There's nothing wrong with using a secular CMS provider or web company.
There are plenty of fantastic businesses out there that we all use for various products and services. However, allow this to at least be a factor in your decision making process.
If you can support fellow believers who will provide the quality service your church needs, why not do it?
Also, consider that an organization that serves churches in particular is going to be better equipped to serve the unique needs of the church with a ministry mindset.
There's a much better chance you'll be on the same page right from the start!
