Church Website Homepage: Doesn't Have to Say it all
Your homepage is the most important page on your website but is does not have to say it all.
Many homepages you see are cluttered with information because people know that the homepage might be the first page that someone visits to they are are looking to say everything before people leave the site. For this step I would encourage you to grab a scrap of paper and just start writing. Turn it sideways and sketch out some boxes where things should go.
What should your homepage do, If it doesn't need to say it all?
Contact Information (also on everypage!)
The contact information should be prominently displayed. I would recommend that you have the church contact information in the upper right hand corner of the website. You want people to connect with you so don't make it hard for them to find you.
Service Times and Locations
Again you want people to connect with you and one place that they are going to connect is in your service times. Make it easy for people to find when and where you meet. This could be on every page, but if you have 3 - 4 services it could get tedious. At the minimum have a clear link to a page that lists your service times.
Call to Action
This is sort of an ecommerce term, but I couldn't think of anything else to call it. It should be prominent on the page and above the fold. It might be something like.. Thinking about visiting the Church - Start Here
Pictures of People
I would recommend that you make this part of the banner. Church is an body, a being, not a building so be sure to include some pics of people on your homepage. Preferably high up on the page. I'm not a big fan of stock photos because, what people are into today is authenticity. So grab your camera and make it real.
Intro Paragraph about your church.
You should start your page with some sort of intro paragraph about your church. Try to write it so that you are talking to people and not just about your church. Use important keywords like "church" "your city" "your neighborhood" "landmarks you are close to" The reason for this is that the when people search for "church in kitsilano" they will find your church online. This open paragraph is critical for the search engines and visitors.
Place for Announcements / Events
Set aside some place on your homepage where you can put upcoming special announcements. This is especially useful for members and regular attenders if you have a place where they will look each time for announcements or special events they will know what to expect each time they come back to the site.
Important Ministries (optional)
Children's ministry, or small group ministry or homeless ministry. Perhaps a place on the page where people can go to see what it looks like to be involved at the church.
Subscription to Mailing list or Give Away (optional)
Your site it about informing and connecting so you may want to offer a free gift to people that subscribe to your mailing list -- assuming you have a mailing list. Your email list is a great way to stay in touch with web visitors and you can ask people to sign up online to stay in touch with you.
The home page is important so takes some time and really think it through.
Who is it for... and what to you want to accomplish...
Next step is thinking about the other pages you want to have on the site and what they should say.