Here's the reality: 85% of visitors check your website before they visit your church.

Whether you're building a new site or updating an old one, you need to know the costs of building a church website.

You have a few options, and the costs range from basically free to thousands.

TL;DR: A strong church website doesn't have to be expensive. You’ve got three options: build it yourself, hire a pro, or lean on a volunteer. Each comes with tradeoffs in time, money, and control. Most small to mid-sized churches do best with a user-friendly builder that keeps costs low and essentials covered.

The 3 Ways Churches Build Websites

When it’s time to build your church website, you have three main options: Using a DIY builder, hiring an agency/designer, or leveraging a staff member or volunteer who already knows how to build websites. 

1. DIY Website Builders

The first is the DIY route. Builders like ChurchTrac, Wix, and Squarespace give you drag-and-drop tools so you don't need to build your whole website from scratch. They're designed for non-tech people who just want something that works efficiently. These don't include crazy customization options, such as those found in some custom church websites. But it gets the job done. 

2. Custom Church Website Agencies

Option two is hiring a custom church website design agency. These are professionals who specialize in creating church websites from the ground up. They handle the look, branding, and even SEO. It's usually a smooth, hands-off process. But it comes at a cost... anywhere from a thousand to ten thousand dollars up front, plus monthly fees for updates and support. 

3. In-House Volunteer or Staff-Built Sites

Third, you can go the in-house route. Maybe you've got a tech-savvy volunteer or staff member who's ready to build something using WordPress or another platform. This gives you more freedom and can save you money upfront. But it also comes with risks. If that person leaves or burns out, you're stuck with a site no one knows how to manage. 

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Church Website?

So, what will all of this really cost you? Here's the Breakdown:

DIY Builders

• $0–$30/month
• Custom domain: $10–$20/year
• Fancy template or plugin: optional one-time cost ($0–$200)

Custom Agencies

• Build cost: $1,000–$10,000+
• Ongoing: $50–$200/month for hosting, support, updates

Volunteer or Staff Builds

• Tools: free to low-cost
• Real cost = your time + risk if that person becomes unavailable

Surprise Costs Churches Forget to Plan For

Here’s what no one tells you when you start building your website: the obvious price isn’t the whole price.

You’ll need to renew your domain every year. You may pay for email hosting through a service like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 ($6–$12/user/month). If your website platform doesn’t offer free SSL, you’ll have to secure that separately (often free now, but not guaranteed), and if your site doesn’t have one, browsers will flag it as unsafe. 

Non-Negotiables for Every Church Website 

It doesn’t matter how you build it or what you spend. Every church website needs to answer three questions clearly:

• When and where do you meet?
• How can someone connect or get in touch?
• What’s the next step if they want to visit or give?

That means you need a clear homepage with your service times and address. Your site should look great on a phone. You need an online giving link. And make it easy for people to reach out, maybe through a digital connect card. 

People also want to know who you are. A brief about page with leadership photos and a short vision statement goes a long way. If you’ve got sermon media or livestreams, include those too, but don’t bury them three clicks deep.

So What’s the Best Move for Your Church?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But for most small to mid-sized churches, the best value is a DIY website builder that’s built for churches. It’s low-risk, low-cost, and gets the job done without tying you to a designer or tech volunteer.

Larger churches with a clear vision and budget may benefit from a custom build, especially if you’ve already outgrown your existing setup.

But the key is this: don’t overthink it. Don’t spend months making decisions about fonts and colors while your contact info is out of date. Focus on the people you’re trying to reach and choose the tools that help you do that well.

Church Website Cost FAQs

Should I pay someone to design my church website?

Hiring a professional to build your church's site can be worth the financial investment. Especially if you have nobody in your staff or congregation with web expertise.

What’s the average cost of a church website?

A professionally built site has an average upfront cost of over $1,000 and has an average monthly cost of around $50-$100 to maintain. Using a DIY website builder can cost as little as $30/month. The tradeoff is often time and quality.

Can my church management software build my website for me?

Some church management platforms do offer websites. ChurchTrac is one of the few that includes a website and church app builder that seamlessly integrates with it's other ChMS features.

Does my church website need a custom domain?

Having a custom domain is the best practice. A domain like yourchurchname.org builds trust and makes it easy for people to find you. Free subdomains like yourchurchname.webbuilder.com look temporary, under construction, and unprofessional. Domains can be purchased from a registrar like Cloudflare for around $20/year.

Can I move my church website later?

Websites built on WordPress can be moved to different hosts pretty easily. Sites built on platforms like Wix or Squarespace typically need to be re-created and cannot simply be copied and pasted over to a new platform. 

Learn more about Church Connect, a customizable church website that’s already integrated with your ChMS.