What Should a Church Website Include? 5 Questions Parents Ask

Before a family ever walks through your doors, a parent has already visited your website, usually late at night on a phone. Here are the five questions they're asking, and where each answer should live.

64%. That's how many churched parents of kids ages 5 to 14 said children's ministry was very important when they chose their church, according to a Barna study done with Awana. 64%!

So if your kids' ministry is hard to find online, your church might be invisible to the exact families most likely to walk in the door with the whole crew in tow. And that makes "what should a church website include?" a parenting question as much as a design question.

Let's fix that today.

The 9:30pm Search Nobody at Your Church Sees

Picture this with me: it's about 9:30 at night. The kids are finally asleep. The dishes are maybe done, or maybe they're not (no judgment here). And a parent is curled up on the couch with their phone, wondering if it might be time to find a church.

There are so many reasons that moment happens. Maybe they just moved to town. Maybe their kid came home from a friend's house asking big questions about God. Maybe a grandparent keeps asking, very politely or maybe not that politely, whether the baby has been baptized. Or maybe Christmas is coming and they're feeling a little nostalgic for the church experience they grew up with.

And what's so wild about that moment is that nobody at your church knows it's happening. There's no greeter, no welcome table, no friendly usher handing out bulletins... it's just that parent and your website, and your website is doing all of those jobs at once.

The research backs this up. Lifeway Research studied people who've switched churches: 37% said they rely on church websites when they're looking for a new church, 29% use social media and 27% use online search. For people who've recently moved, the website number goes up to 40%. And Pew Research found that 39% of moms say they're mainly responsible for their kids' religious instruction, compared to 17% of dads. So a lot of the time, the person doing that late-night scroll tends to be Mom, which is helpful to keep in mind when you're picking photos and writing the words on the page.

What Should a Church Website Include for Families? Five Questions

I tend to think of it as five big questions. Most parents are probably asking some version of them, whether they say them out loud or not.

Question one: is there anything here for my kid? This is the big obvious one, and the answer belongs right on your homepage. A photo, a line or a button that says Kids or Families, something that tells a parent in about two seconds, "Yes, there's a place for your child here." If a parent has to dig through three menus just to find out you have a church school, that's a lot of work to ask of somebody at 9:30 at night.

Question two: where do I go when I walk in? Where do I park? Which door do I use? Is there a check-in table? Do I keep my kid with me in worship or drop them off somewhere? And if I drop them off, when do I pick them up? This can all feel so obvious to us because we've walked through these doors a thousand times. For a brand-new family, it's the whole ball game. So give them a little "first time with kids" section that walks them right from the parking lot to the classroom.

While we're here, let's talk about church words for a second. Church school, Sunday school, nursery, children's chapel, children's time, Godly Play, the children's sermon, the message for all ages... those words mean something really specific to each of us, and to a parent who's never been inside your building, they might mean nothing at all. So whenever you use one of them online, explain it right then and there in plain language. Something like this: Children's chapel: kids ages 4 to 10 head downstairs during the sermon for a short story and an activity, and come back to join their families for communion. One sentence, and suddenly that parent can picture the whole Sunday morning flow.

Question three: is it safe, and who's with my kid? Handle this one calmly and plainly. If your church does background checks for volunteers, say so. If you have a check-in system, say so and say how pickup works. And if you can, show the faces of the people who lead your kids' ministry (with their permission) with a line or two about who they are. A couple of sentences tells a parent that somebody thought about this, and that does so much.

Question four: what if my kid has a meltdown? Oh, this one. Every parent has a version of this fear: the toddler who decides the middle of the prayers is the perfect time for a solo. (As a church organist, I can tell you we've all heard some really great toddler solos.) So say right on the website that kids are welcome in worship, sounds and wiggles and all. If you have a cry room, a pray-ground, activity bags or a children's bulletin, say what it is and where to find it. Those little lines take so much pressure off a parent before they ever walk in the door.

Question five: will my kid actually like it? This is where photos come in, maybe a short video, some artwork, a peek into the room. Parents want to picture their kid in that space having a good time.

Somewhere out there tonight, a parent is on the couch scrolling, wondering if your church might be the place for their family. Let's make sure they can find their answer.

Kids' Ministry Photos Without Faces

Which brings us to the tricky part. Quick recap from the stewardship episode: we're not putting kids' faces online without parental permission on file, and that means written permission. I know that leaves a lot of us wondering what we can even post, because it feels like all the best, happiest, most expressive photos are off limits.

There's actually so much you can share. Hands making crafts. The backs of heads gathered around a craft table. Artwork hanging on the wall, especially the glorious, messy kind with dripping paint. The classroom all set up on a Sunday morning with the snacks out and the little chairs in a circle (oh, I love the little chairs). Little feet in a row of rain boots by the door. A close-up of a Bible story felt board. And your volunteers, with their permission: the faces of the actual grown-ups a parent is going to meet at the classroom door might be the most reassuring photo of all, because when that family walks in on Sunday, they'll recognize somebody.

The full conversation goes deeper than this, including the quick checks that tend to sneak up on every kids page. Listen below.

The Two Other Doors: Google and Social Media

A parent might not even make it to your website first. Remember that Lifeway number? 27% of church switchers use online search and 29% use social media, so the two other doors matter too.

Your Google Business Profile. I know I keep going on about this one, and it's because it makes such a difference and is so often forgotten. It's the box that pops up on the right side of Google, or at the top of your phone, when someone searches for your church's name (you've maybe seen it on Google Maps). For families, the quick win is photos: add a few of those kid-friendly, no-faces photos right on your profile, so a parent sees them before they ever click.

Social media. If you're on Instagram, think about a story highlight called Kids or Families, one of those little circles that sits at the top of your profile and stays there. Put your first-visit info in it, your kids' ministry photos and a peek at the classroom, so a parent who finds you on Instagram gets their answers without ever leaving the app.

Quick Checks for Your Church Website's Kids Page

These tend to sneak up on all of us:

Is anything out of date? A summer program from a couple of years ago still front and center, or a staff person who's moved on, can make a parent wonder how current everything is. Is your nursery listed with no details? If you say nursery available, say for what ages, during which service and where it is. Is your registration form a PDF a parent has to download, print and bring in? That's a lot to ask on a phone at 9:30 at night, so if your website provider makes a simple online form easy, do it. Is there an easy way to ask a question? A name and an email for your kids' ministry leader can be so helpful, because sometimes a parent has one quick question (maybe about allergies, or a kid who needs a little extra support) and wants to ask a real person before loading everybody into the car.

Sunday Morning Has to Keep the Promise

Your website gets them in the door, and then Sunday morning has to keep the promise. Back to that Lifeway study one more time: 79% of church switchers said how a church welcomed visitors affected their decision to keep coming, and 71% decided to attend regularly after three visits or fewer. Three visits is the number of chances we have.

So deliver what the website promises: somebody friendly standing at the kids' door, a check-in that actually works, a volunteer who learns the kid's name and uses it, and maybe a nice follow-up note that week that mentions their child by name. Those little things tend to be the ones families remember, and the ones kids remember too.

Your homework this week is the phone test. Hand your phone to a parent who doesn't go to your church, pull up your website, and ask them to find out what happens with their kids on a Sunday morning. Then watch where they tap, where they search and where they get stuck. That'll teach you so much about where things should live.

Frequently Asked Questions About What a Church Website Should Include

What should a church website include for families with kids?

Answers to five questions parents ask: is there anything here for my kid, where do I go when I walk in, is it safe and who's with my kid, what if my kid has a meltdown, and will my kid actually like it. The first answer belongs right on your homepage.

How do parents look for a church online?

Lifeway Research found that 37% of people who've switched churches rely on church websites, 29% use social media and 27% use online search. For people who've recently moved, the website number goes up to 40%.

Can we post photos of children on our church website?

Only with written parental permission on file for any identifiable faces. Without it, share hands making crafts, the backs of heads around a table, artwork on the wall, the classroom set up for Sunday, and your volunteers' faces with their permission.

What's the phone test for a church website?

Hand your phone to a parent who doesn't attend your church, pull up your website, and ask them to find out what happens with their kids on a Sunday morning. Watch where they tap, where they search and where they get stuck.

My question for you: if a parent landed on your homepage at 9:30 tonight, how many seconds would it take them to find out there's a place for their child?

I made a one-page checklist to go with this episode, with all five questions, where each answer should live on your website and the phone test at the bottom, so you can print it and hand it to your kids' ministry team. You'll find it in the episode description, and more at studiokons.com.