Church Website Checklist for 2027: 15 Things Every Church Site Needs

A church website has two audiences: the visitor deciding whether to come this Sunday, and the member who wants to watch, give or connect during the week. Most church sites only serve one — or neither. Use this checklist to see where yours stands.

For first-time visitors

1. Service times and address on the first screen, with a map link.

2. What to expect: dress, length of service, children's church, parking.

3. What you believe, in plain language.

4. Real photos of your people — not stock images.

5. A "Plan a visit" form that goes straight to a person who will follow up.

For members during the week

6. Livestream that switches on automatically when you go live — nobody should have to paste a new link every Sunday.

7. Online giving with tithe, offering and project categories, and recurring giving.

8. Sermons and teachings organised by series, searchable years later.

9. Events with dates, countdowns and registration.

10. Prayer requests — with a confidential option only the pastor can read.

For the church office

11. A dashboard where staff update events, sermons and announcements without calling a developer.

12. A membership database the website writes into automatically.

13. Attendance tracking — including mobile check-in on arrival.

14. Email messaging that can target groups, such as everyone absent last Sunday.

For everyone

15. Fast on mobile data. Most of your visitors are on a phone, often on a slow connection. If your site takes more than three seconds to load, many will leave before seeing your service times.

How did you score?

12–15: you're ahead of most churches. 7–11: your site serves visitors or members, but not both. Under 7: your website is probably costing you first-time guests every week.

The Emkay Church Platform ticks all fifteen in one system — public website, livestream with a Bible panel, giving, GPS check-in, membership, messaging and a staff dashboard. You can see it working on our live demo church.