Joomla for Churches

It is a fact that Joomla, as a CMS, is used extensively for non-profits. And, from our experience, one of the main non-profits taking advantage of Joomla to establish a web presence is churches. In this post, we will discuss the following:

• Why many churches use Joomla to power their websites
• What is the typical structure of a church website that is powered by Joomla
• What are the usual features that churches demand for their websites
• How we can help a church create (or maintain) its Joomla website

Why do many churches use Joomla to power their websites?

The reason for this is simple, churches, like small businesses, don’t have the resources nor the time to create and manage their own CMS (that usually costs much more and needs much more maintenance). So, they go with Joomla, which is a free to install and to use CMS that is backed by a very large community that will cater for their every needs. Joomla also has many church templates that churches can use for a professional look & feel.

What is the typical structure for a church website powered by Joomla?

We made many church websites over the years and here’s what we think are the typical pages on any church website:

• Homepage: A page that gives a glimpse about the church.

• Who we are: More or less like an “About Us” page. The “About Us” page contains detailed information about the mission of the church.

• History: This page contains information about the history of the website: When it was created, why it was created, and, of course, who created it.

• Contact us: A page that contains all the contact information of the church including the phone/fax number, the full address, the email, and the Facebook page. This page may also contain a form that visitors can fill in to contact the church.

• Latest news: A page listing the latest news/activities of the church. This page may also be calendar-based.

Other pages may include “The advantage of joining the church”, “Miscellaneous information about Christianity”, “Sunday school”, “How to pray”, “Why pray”, etc…

What are the usual features that churches demand for their websites?

The usual features that churches demand for their websites are:

• A contact us form that is used by visitors to contact the church
• A calendar extension (such as JEvent) to list all the church’s events
• Social networking integration (Facebook/Twitter) that will help the church reach its followers/potential followers through social media

How do we help your church create a Joomla website?

We know that for many churches, the process for creating a website is a bit intimidating, even when using Joomla. Here’s what we usually do to help you create your Joomla website:

• We collect the requirements from you: We will ask you what you want on your website and what you do not want on your website. Rest assured that we will help you during the requirements gathering process because we know what churches want from their websites and what they do not want (this is because we have helped many churches create/upgrade their websites).

• We suggest templates: There are many Joomla templates that are either free or paid that can be used by churches. We will suggest some templates that you can choose from to use on your website.

• We teach you how to use your Joomla website: Joomla is not that hard, but the person managing a Joomla website may need some training. We will train the person(s) who will manage your Joomla website.

How do we help your church maintain its Joomla website?

Websites are like cars – they need maintenance, otherwise they’ll rot!

We have a Joomla maintenance package that is very reasonably priced. Our maintenance package will ensure that your Joomla website and your standard extensions are secure and functioning properly. We will also backup your website regularly and will give you 3 hours (and an additional 1 emergency hour) of Joomla professional work.

Are you in the process of creating a new Joomla website for your church? If you are, then contact us, and rest assured that you can rely on us to help you achieve this goal!