It’s the beginning of another year. As a church leader, you’ve probably thought about the goals you want to reach—the vision God has for your church in 2022. One key value many churches have is to reach more people with the gospel. Have you considered that one way to do this is through your church website? If you’re thinking about updating or creating a new site from scratch, you may want to peruse what the current church website design trends are.
We know, trends are just that—something that is currently popular. This also means that it may not be as popular years down the road. However, if a trend is working, why not use it to your advantage?
There are many current trends in the web design space for businesses. But your church could implement some that will be especially beneficial for your congregation and people looking for a new church. Below you’ll find 10 Church Website Design Trends to use in 2022.
1. Minimalism
One trend that could be useful for your church is a minimalist web design. People might become easily overwhelmed by a site that is packed full of content and information. This could actually deter some people. They won’t be able to find what they’re searching for.
Minimalism can be defined as “a style in art, design, and theatre that uses the smallest range of materials and colors as possible, and only very simple shapes or forms.” The reason this could be beneficial for your church is that it removes all of the extra clutter. People are already overwhelmed with living in two years of pandemic life. A minimalistic website plays with more white space and can highlight the important stuff.
2. Personal Photography
Stock photos can be very useful, especially if your church doesn’t have a ton of original photography. However, many other churches are using the same stock photos across the web. In fact, there are entire threads on social media dedicated to the stock photos which are most used by churches. Sometimes this can be detrimental, too, because if another church used the same photo and a person had a bad encounter there, it could actually produce a negative experience for that visitor.
Personal photography can also help people connect with your church. They can see what to expect through the visuals. Of course, if it’s possible, use a professional photographer or somebody with talent. People appreciate clean, professional photos over mediocre shots.
3. Videos are King
Online videos are everywhere now. This trend has been increasing over the years. A 2021 survey shows people watched an average of 2.5 hours of online videos per day. This is up from an average of 1.5 hours in 2018. And people are twice as likely to share video content with their friends than any other type of content, such as social media posts, blogs, and articles.
As a church, you can use videos for multiple reasons. Share the latest sermon on your website. Provide a video devotional in your next mass email (that links back to your site, of course). You could even include a montage video on your homepage to give people a glimpse inside your building. The point is videos aren’t going anywhere. People are consuming online videos more each year. Your visitors might appreciate seeing them on your site, too.
Check out Colonial Heights Baptist Church’s use of video directly on their homepage.
4. Chatbots
You might think chatbots are just for businesses. But think about how beneficial an AI chatbot could be for your church. Sure, they’re not getting personal assistance at that moment, but it could really help with website navigation.
Let’s say a visitor lands on your church website. A chatbot could direct them to what they’re looking for. It could be next steps, service times, or even prayer requests. It can also be a great way to collect member and visitor information to follow up. So before you dismiss chatbots as only for businesses, consider how they could benefit your visitors. Provide them with more information about your church, upcoming events, online giving, and more. They won’t have to search all over your site to find it if the chatbot can point them in the right direction.
Forest Hill Baptist Church utilizes a chatbot on their website via Facebook Messenger.
5. Animations
Another church website design trend to consider in 2022 is the use of animations. Becoming increasingly popular, animations can help engage the people interacting with your site. Along with static images and text, animations can add movement to your page. This helps draw attention to something specific.
Micro-animations are also trending in the new year. These are small movements when a cursor hovers over part of your webpage. It is subtle but fun. People might even stay on your page longer just to find these micro-movements.
All Saints’ Episcopal Atlanta uses subtle typography animation on their website to draw attention that anyone is welcome.
6. Blur Effect
Some designers are using the blur effect in the graphics and text on websites. This is the use of blurry visuals, or even blurring parts of an image. It allows you to emphasize what you want people to see and then blur the other elements on the page. It will help draw attention to important information or content.
Though this one is probably not a game-changer, it can be a fun, new element to add to your website redesign. And if you implement the blur in a strategic way, you might actually find it works to your benefit.
7. Typography Matters
Font trends seem to change every year, but it’s important to consider. You don’t want to use typography that isn’t readable or fonts that are distracting. The whole point of getting people to your site is to get them connected so they can grow in their relationship with God and other believers. If they can’t read the font or if it’s more of a distraction, they won’t be able to use your site to get connected.
Some popular fonts for 2022 will be minimalist fonts, bold fonts, and animated typography. Classic serif fonts are making a comeback too, like Times New Roman and Georgia.
Don’t forget that things like line-height, letter spacing, and whitespace all play a significant role in typography too.
8. Comfortable Colors
Neons have been pretty popular in the last couple of years, and bold colors are still being used (mostly as a highlight). But people are looking for safety and comfort after the last two years. Soft color pallets are going to be trending in 2022. With warm colors, natural greens and browns, and light pinks and baby blues.
When it comes to color, though, think about which ones will align with your church brand. You don’t want to change up the colors so much that people don’t recognize the colors they’ve already been associating with your church.
9. Illustrations
Illustrations, including hand drawings, have been gaining popularity. In 2022, imagine the fun you can add to your page with illustrations, particularly for ministries like kids or youth. Hand-drawn images are also great.
They can bring a dynamic edge to your church brand and website design. It will help vary the content, so your site isn’t only full of photos and text.
10. User-Friendly Navigation
Though this might not technically be a “design” trend, navigation is extremely important when it comes to your church website. So think about the layout and what makes the most sense for new visitors. Does your homepage contain all the necessary information, like service times and locations? Maybe include a search bar so people can easily navigate through your site by searching for what they need. Don’t forget about tabs and call to action buttons.
When people can easily find what they’re looking for, they’re likely to stay on your site longer. And from there, hopefully, attend a service, an event, or even sign up to volunteer.
Arbor Road Church has a logical sequence as you scroll through the homepage as well as helpful tabs at the top for easy navigation.
Website Design Trends for Your Church
When it comes to church website design trends, you can pick and choose which ones will best fit your church and congregation. Implement the designs that align with your branding or add elements that will help draw people in.
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