Church web design
Church websites your team can actually update
I'm Joel Mellor, a former worship leader and a web designer in Minnesota. I build fast WordPress sites for churches and ministries, with sermons, resources and events built in, and I train your staff to run them. Churches and ministries get 50% off every build.
Most church websites have the same three problems
Sound familiar?
01
Only one person knows how to update it.
When that volunteer is busy or moves on, the site freezes in time.
02
Sermons live somewhere else.
Messages are scattered across YouTube and Facebook, with no way to find a series or start from the beginning.
03
The calendar is always out of date.
Weekly services, monthly prayer nights and one-off events get re-entered by hand, or not at all.
Why churches work with me
Your website is your church’s front door
Most people visit your website long before they walk through your doors. They’re deciding whether to come on Sunday from a phone, often late at night, and the site has to answer their questions and make them feel welcome.
I’ve been on the church side of that door. Before I built websites I served in ministry as a worship leader, so I know what a church week looks like and what your team needs a website to do.
✓
Former worship leader
I’ve led worship and served alongside pastors, staff and volunteers, so I know how a church week really runs.
✓
Degree in biblical studies
I know the language of Scripture and church life, so your sermons, studies and ministry pages are handled with care.
✓
Builds church tools
I wrote the sermon, resource and events plugins that run the sites I build.
Everything a church site needs, built in
Every build includes the pages and tools churches actually use, set up and styled to match your church.
A first visit, answered
A Plan Your Visit page with service times, directions, what to expect and what to do with kids.
A sermon library
Every message filed in its series, with video, transcript, discussion questions, search and topic filters.
Sermon Studio
A resource center
Articles from your pastors, a bookshelf of recommended books, links and downloads, each one connectable to a sermon.
Blog & Resource Manager
A calendar that keeps itself current
Enter a recurring service once ("every Wednesday", "first Saturday of the month") and the next date always shows.
Events
Giving and check-in
Links to the giving, check-in and prayer tools you already use, like Church Center.
Training, then hand-off
Your staff learn to edit pages, post sermons and add events in the WordPress dashboard. No outside service to log in to.
The plugins behind it are mine
Most church sites cobble together plugins from different companies that were never meant to work together. I wrote the three that run the sermon library, the resource center and the calendar, so they share one design and I can fix or extend them myself.
Recent church and ministry sites
East Bethel, MN
Destination Church
A new church plant: a launch page in summer 2025, a launch site for the first Sunday, and a full rebuild a year later with a sermon library and resource center.
Teaching ministry
Felix Harcourt Ministries
A teaching ministry with four recurring online gatherings, a deep teaching library and a book shop.
From first call to launch Sunday
Most church sites launch in 4–6 weeks.
1
We talk.
You tell me about your church, who you're trying to reach and what isn't working. I recommend a package and give you a price.
2
I build it on a staging site.
You see the new site at a private address while your current one stays up. Your current pages are moved over and refreshed.
3
Training and launch.
After a round of edits, I train your team, move the domain and take the site live.
4
Care, if you want it.
Optional monthly plans cover hosting, updates, backups and security, and the bigger plans include hours each month for changes.
No deposit. You pay once, at launch.
Church and ministry pricing
The same packages as my regular pricing, at half the price for churches and ministries.
Website
Essentials
A modern, fast site your staff can update themselves.
Church price, starting at
$625
Regular price $1,250
- Custom Elementor design
- Your current pages moved and refreshed
- Online giving and events calendar
- SEO setup: page titles, local search, sitemap
- Caching, backups and security
- Staging, domain transfer and launch
- A round of edits and editor training
Website + plugins
Complete
Everything in Essentials, plus a sermon library and resource center.
Church price, starting at
$975
Regular price $1,950
- Everything in Essentials
- Sermon Studio: series, video, search and topic filters
- Blog & Resource Manager: articles, bookshelf and links
- Sermons and resources styled to match your site
Apps & more
Custom
For projects that need more than a website.
Priced by project
Quote
Ministry pricing available
- iOS, Android and web apps
- Custom WordPress plugins
- API integrations
- Larger or multi-site builds
Monthly care, after launch
Optional. Billed monthly, separate from the build.
Care
$50 per month
- Hosting
- WordPress, theme and plugin updates
- Ongoing SEO
- Security monitoring and backups
Care Plus
$200 per month
- Everything in Care
- 4 hours of development and content updates each month
Care Pro
$400 per month
- Everything in Care Plus
- 8 hours of development and content updates each month
- Advanced security and SEO
- Social media posting
No deposit. Builds are paid once, at launch, and stock photos are billed at cost. Not sure what fits? I’m always happy to work something out.
Questions churches ask
How much does a church website cost?
With me, $625 for Essentials or $975 for Complete with a sermon library and resource center. That’s half the regular price, paid once at launch with no deposit. For how that compares to builders, church platforms and agencies, see How much does a church website cost in 2026?
Can our staff really update it themselves?
Yes. Pages, sermons, resources and events are all edited in the WordPress dashboard, and training is part of every build.
Can you move our current site and sermons over?
Yes. Your current pages are moved and refreshed as part of every build. Importing an existing sermon archive, from YouTube or another sermon plugin, is quoted separately based on its size.
Do you work with churches outside Minnesota?
Yes. I work with churches anywhere in the US. Everything from the first call to training works over video.
Does it work with Planning Center / Church Center?
Yes. Giving, check-in and prayer requests link to the tools you already use. Destination Church runs on Church Center today.
Who owns the site?
You do. The domain, the content and the site are yours. If I host it on a care plan, I’ll give you a full copy and help you move it whenever you ask.
What if we already have a WordPress site?
You can buy the plugins on their own or as the Church Bundle and add them to your current site.
Let’s build your church’s next website
Tell me about your church and I’ll get back to you with a recommendation and a price.