A year has passed since our last installment of “In Search of the Best Church Websites,” allowing time for more brilliant and beautifully designed church websites to emerge. We’d like to highlight four more church websites that display excellence in aesthetics, organization, navigation, communication, and social networking. Whether your church is looking for inspiration for a new website design or you’re just considering a revamp, these four websites offer great examples of what a church website can be.
Second Presbyterian Church (Memphis, TN)
www.2pc.org
While organic and paper-like textures are nothing new to web design, Second Presbyterian Church’s minimal use of these elements complements their traditional roots while still managing to present an updated look. The rotating features box quickly informs users about the most prominent events occurring at Second Presbyterian using images overlaid with the church’s logo. On the right side of the page, visitors will find the four major buttons that relate to them almost immediately. Everyone else can use the top navigation menu that provides all the essential information. The site also includes “quick links” to kids’, students’, women’s, and men’s ministries.
For any of its more web-savvy members, Second Presbyterian Church also provides social networking buttons to stay connected throughout the week. The “Upcoming Events” section lets everyone know what is happening at the church in a simple glance. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, there’s always the site search box or even the creative “Ministry Index” drop-down at the top of the home page. The bottom of the site includes four main images that serve as advertisements for specific ministries in the church.
First Baptist Oviedo (Oviedo, FL)
www.fbcoviedo.org
When visiting First Baptist Oviedo’s website, you’re immediately greeted with soft colorful bubbles that shimmer as the Flash-driven site loads. In fact, everything on the site is animated—the drop-down menus, the highlighted buttons, and even the church logo. The large, rotating features box quickly draws the user’s attention and communicates the most pertinent information. First time visitors will easily find the “I’m New” button as well as service times.
The navigation menu is broken down into four major sections, simplifying the process of finding information on the site. Whether it’s information about parking, the different ministries offered, or upcoming events, everything is only a few clicks away.
For those not fortunate enough to attend First Baptist Oviedo in person, they
also offer live streaming on Sundays and have a vast media archive.
LifePoint Church (Smyrna, TN)
www.lifepointchurch.org
The first thing you’ll notice about LifePoint Church’s website is its incredibly simple and clean look. The home page features very little text (mainly pertaining to the navigation menu), a lot of white space, and Web 2.0-style buttons. Like First Baptist Oviedo, a large, rotating features box catches the eye. The intuitive navigation menu starts with an “I’m New” button, and then moves through the different church ministries categorized by age groups.
LifePoint Church also has a blog link where they broadcast all the happenings at the church. If you’re looking for sermons, simply click on the rich media player located at the top of the page next to the search box. At the bottom of the page are five more buttons for more direct links and ministries. Again, the key to this site is the simplicity. LifePoint also includes social networking buttons at the bottom, further emphasizing the site’s Web 2.0 aesthetic.
Oasis Christian Center (Los Angeles, CA )
www.oasisla.org
Unlike the visual simplicity of LifePoint’s website, Oasis Christian Center’s website explodes with vibrant images. While there might be a lot to take in initially, the site’s layout is actually quite simple. Rather than being driven by textual navigation, Oasis’s Flash-based website utilizes the power of images to guide the user through the site. Oasis displays their top five values—Connect, Serve, Give, Reach, and Lead—and each clickable value directs the user to a place where you can get involved. The site makes visitor information such as service times, location, and contact information readily available on the home page.
The main navigation menu is divided more specifically than other sites making it easier to find the information you’re looking for in as few clicks as possible. The trade-off, of course, is that the menu bar features 12 items, which might be a tad overwhelming to some. Oasis Christian Center offers a vast media library, called OasisWired, which includes audio and video of sermons, blogs, podcasts, and photos. Oasis also live-streams their service on the website through a beautifully integrated video player.
Read Part 1 and Part 2 of the In Search of the Best Church Website series.