You can keep a church website current without a web person by giving one office person a short weekly routine, cutting the site down to the pages you can actually maintain, and using a website tool that anyone who can write an email can edit. Most churches do not need more technical skill; they need a habit and fewer moving parts.
Many small churches have lived through the same story: a kind volunteer built the website years ago, then moved away or got busy, and nobody else knows how to change it. Here is how to get out of that spot and stay out.
Who should update the church website?
Ideally, the person who already knows what is happening each week. In most small churches, that is the church secretary or office manager. They type the bulletin, take the calls, and hear about schedule changes first.
It helps to have a backup, too. Pick a second person, perhaps a deacon or a younger member, who knows how to log in and make a basic change if the office is closed or the secretary is on vacation.
Make a simple weekly routine
A website stays current through small, regular updates, not big yearly overhauls. A routine might look like this:
- Weekly (10 to 15 minutes): After the bulletin is done, update the upcoming events, remove anything that has passed, and post the latest sermon if you share them.
- Monthly (20 minutes): Look over the home page on your phone. Check service times, contact information, and any staff changes.
- Seasonally: Before Easter, Vacation Bible School, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, add special service times. Afterward, take them down.
Put these on the office calendar like any other task. When it is written down, it gets done.
Keep fewer pages
Every page you add is a page that can go stale. A small church usually needs only a handful:
- Home, with service times and address
- Plan Your Visit or What to Expect
- Events
- About, with beliefs and the pastor
- Contact, and Give if you take online gifts
Separate pages for every ministry often sit untouched for years. Fold them into a single "Ministries" section with a sentence or two each, or leave them off.
Write wording that does not expire
Some words go out of date the moment you publish them. "This Sunday," "next week," "our new pastor," and "coming soon" all age badly. Instead:
- Use specific dates for events: "Saturday, October 18"
- Describe regular things as regular: "Sunday worship at 10:00 a.m."
- Avoid "new" in titles; it stops being true
That way, if a week slips by without an update, the site is still accurate.
Tie website updates to the bulletin
The bulletin is already a weekly habit in most offices. Use it. When the bulletin is final, open the website and make the same changes. Some secretaries keep a sticky note on the monitor: "Bulletin done? Website next."
Keep the logins in one safe place
A surprising number of churches lose access to their own website because the password lived in one person's head. Write down where the site is hosted, the login, and who pays the bill. Keep it somewhere secure that the pastor and one trusted leader can reach. When volunteers change, update it.
A small church example
Picture a church of about 150 where the website was built by a member's son who later moved out of state. For two years, the home page still showed an old revival meeting. The church secretary assumed she could not touch it because "it's technical."
The church moved to a simpler site the office could edit directly. The secretary set a Monday-morning reminder, spent about fifteen minutes each week, and cut the site from twelve pages to six. Within a month, it matched the bulletin every week, and she no longer had to text anyone for help.
What if no one can edit your current website?
If your current website requires special software, code, or a person you can no longer reach, that is a sign the tool does not fit your church. A good church website should let office staff change a word, a photo, or a service time as easily as editing a document. It is reasonable to switch to something simpler rather than keep paying for a site no one can update.
How ChurchConnect helps
ChurchConnect offers a new church website for $12 a year, built from your church's details, secure and hosted for you, and working on every phone. It is made to be easy to keep current yourself: you can change any word, photo, or service time in minutes, with no web skills, and change your whole look with one click. If you want the events page to keep itself up to date, ChurchConnect Pro ($49 a month, no contract) includes the website and updates it from the events and sermons you enter. New churches get Pro free for their first 30 days with no card.