Someone asked me the other day essentially this question:

How do I build a website for my church?

This person told me frankly that they did not know anything about it, or even where to begin.

I feel a lot of people are in her shoes, so I decided to blog it. I remember quite clearly the first time I “setup” a website; what a thrill. But, I can’t forget the people who are just entering this brave, new world of online.

So here are the 3 things or 3 steps to help get you started. Remember, creating a website can easily get as complicated as you want (or don’t want) but these 3 things are essential:

1. Domain Name Registration: You need to get a domain name (or a website name) for your organization. This is also the web address that your visitors will be using to access your website, like MyChurchWebsite.com. You can register a domain name in a number of places and you typically pay on an annual basis. The cost associated can be from $0.00 to $100.00 per year (depending on the name and web hosting).
2. Web Hosting: People often times get Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting confused. Typically, people get confused by thinking they are the same thing. They are not. You need to both register the domain name and then find a “home” for it to live on or in. There are tons of places to find web hosting, so definitely ask around for advice. If you need something simple and low cost, check out DreamHost.com and a special discount for low cost hosting that I have. If you know you’ll be needing something a tad bit bigger, check out MediaTemple.net, which I use to run this blog. The nice thing is that you can typically choose your web host which can also do your registration as well (nice 2 in 1 deal, and makes management easier).
3. Build the Website: Now time for the fun! Here’s where your options are pretty much unlimited. If you know some HTML you can go ahead and start there, or you could use a number of various pieces of software to help you out. Of course, you could also hire someone to help you out as well (which is a good choice to start out perhaps). Or, you could try one of these 10 Free Ministry Website Creation Tools and Services that’ll help you get up and running.

Hope that helps!  If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to stop by the ChurchCrunch Forums where we can help you out!

[Image from Charlie]