Church Website Score

Most church websites
fail this test.
Does yours?

Get a free, instant scorecard of your church website — graded the way a first-time visitor on their phone actually experiences it.

Enter your website URL

Free instant scorecard — 6 categories, 100 points.

Your Website Score

54/100Needs work
Mobile Experience12/20
First Impressions11/18
Visitor Essentials9/20
Content & Life8/16
Action & Conversion7/16
Trust & Technical7/10

Sample scorecard — yours will look like this.

Instant results

A full scorecard in under a minute.

100-point scale

Six categories, weighted like visitors see them.

Actionable fixes

Every finding comes with how to fix it.

Built for churches

By a pastor who builds church websites.

Six things every church website needs

We score the same things that decide whether a visitor on Saturday night actually shows up Sunday morning.

Mobile Experience

Most visitors see your church website on a phone first. Does it work there?

Why it matters

More than half of the people who look up a church do it on a mobile phone — often on a Saturday night, deciding where to go in the morning. If your church website isn't mobile-friendly, the text is tiny, the buttons are hard to tap, and most first-time guests give up before they ever find your service times.

How to improve it

We check for a responsive, mobile-first layout, a tap-friendly navigation menu, a phone number you can tap to call, and an address that links straight to Google or Apple Maps. Compress large images and avoid heavy autoplay video so the page loads fast on church Wi-Fi and rural data.

First Impressions & Design

In 15 seconds, can a stranger tell who you are and what to do next?

Why it matters

First-time guests decide within seconds whether a church feels like a place they could belong. A dated, cluttered church website — clipart, tiny fonts, a 2010-era template — quietly tells visitors the church might feel the same way, even when it doesn't.

How to improve it

Aim for a clean, modern layout with consistent fonts and colors and real photos of your actual congregation — warm, welcoming faces across a range of ages and life stages. Lead with your church name, location, service times, and one clear next step.

Visitor Essentials

Service times, location, a plan-a-visit page, and a face to trust.

Why it matters

The number-one reason someone visits a church website is to answer practical questions: When do you meet? Where are you? What should I expect as a first-time guest? If they have to dig for the answers, they leave and try the next church on the list.

How to improve it

Put your service times and physical address right on the homepage, add a clear “Plan Your Visit” page (parking, what to wear, kids and nursery check-in), and include a real photo and a warm, personal bio of your pastor so guests know who's preaching before they ever walk in.

Content & Life

Recent sermons and events that prove the church is alive and active.

Why it matters

A church website with a 2021 copyright and a last event from two years ago signals a congregation that may have closed its doors. Fresh, current content is what proves to a searching visitor that yours is a living, active church worth showing up for.

How to improve it

Keep recent sermons posted and dated (audio or video), list your upcoming events with real dates, update the copyright year, and write clear About and Statement of Faith pages in plain language a newcomer can actually understand.

Action & Conversion

Clear next steps, online giving, livestream, and a way to connect.

Why it matters

A church website that only describes the church — without ever inviting the visitor to do anything — leaves guests unsure what to do next. The best church sites turn anonymous visitors into known people the church can welcome and follow up with.

How to improve it

Add directive calls to action like “Plan your visit,” “Watch live,” and “Give online,” make your online giving easy to find, link your livestream, and offer a connect or prayer-request card that captures a name and email so you can reach out.

Trust & Technical

HTTPS, a real domain, clean URLs, and the signals Google looks for.

Why it matters

A “Not Secure” warning next to your Give button destroys trust instantly, and a free builder subdomain like yourchurch.wixsite.com plus missing SEO basics make your church hard for new people to find on Google in the first place.

How to improve it

Serve your site over HTTPS, use your own custom domain (yourchurch.org), give each page a unique title and description, put your church name and city in the text, and install analytics so you can finally see how many people your website is reaching.

Every church website is graded on these six areas across 24 specific checks — from mobile tap targets and service-time visibility to HTTPS, online giving, and Google findability. Enter your URL above for a free, instant scorecard.

Church website questions, answered

Everything pastors ask about scoring and improving their church website.

How does the Church Website Score work?

Enter your church's website address and our tool reads your homepage and key pages the way a first-time visitor would. It grades your site from 0 to 100 across six areas — mobile experience, first impressions, visitor essentials, content, calls to action, and technical trust — using 24 specific checks, then gives you a clear report with the exact fixes that would help most.

Is the church website score really free?

Yes. The scorecard and the full report are completely free — no credit card and no obligation. It's a tool Pastor Eli built to help churches see where their website stands and what to improve.

How long does it take to get my score?

About 20 to 40 seconds. You enter your website and contact details, and your full report appears on the next screen as soon as the analysis finishes.

What makes a good church website?

A good church website loads fast on a phone, tells a first-time visitor your name, location, and service times within seconds, shows real photos of your congregation, offers a clear plan-your-visit path, keeps recent sermons and events, and makes it easy to give, watch live, and get in touch — all on a secure custom domain.

Why does my church website need to be mobile-friendly?

Most people who look up a church do it on their phone, often the night before they visit. If your site isn't mobile-friendly, the text is hard to read and the buttons are hard to tap, and many guests leave before they find your service times. Mobile experience is the most heavily weighted part of the score.

Do I need a custom domain instead of a free website builder?

A custom domain like yourchurch.org looks far more credible than a free builder subdomain such as yourchurch.wixsite.com, and it helps you rank on Google. Free builder URLs and “Not Secure” pages lower your score and quietly cost you visitors' trust.

How can I improve my church website's score?

Start with the top three fixes in your report — they're ordered by impact. Common wins include making your phone number tappable, adding service times and an address to the homepage, posting recent sermons, adding online giving and a connect card, switching to HTTPS and a custom domain, and using real photos of your church family.

Will a better website help my church show up on Google?

It helps. Unique page titles and descriptions, your church name and city in the text, a secure custom domain, fresh content, and basic analytics all make your church easier to find when locals search. The Trust & Technical section of your score checks these directly.

Does my church need online giving and a livestream?

They're not required, but they matter. Online giving makes it easy for members and visitors to support the church, and a livestream reaches people who are sick, traveling, or checking you out before they visit. Both are part of the Action & Conversion score.

Who built this, and can you build my church a new website?

Church Website Score was built by Pastor Eli, who designs modern, fast church websites. If your score shows room to grow, you can see examples of his work and reach out for a new site — the goal is better websites, stronger connections, and more visitors.