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KentShaffer.com AcreScout LifeChurch.tv Center for Church Communication MinistryCSS Compassion Bloggers

With more and more churches launching exceptional websites, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep my top church websites list to only 75 sites. So to make it easier on myself and give you more eye candy, I am expanding the list to the Top 80 Church Websites.

Ten new church websites made list, and The Life Church (Memphis, TN) recently redesigned their website. Here are the eleven new screen shots. I hope they inspire you.

#1 - Buckhead Church (Atlanta, GA)

Buckhead Church Website

#2 - Catalina Church of Midtown (Tucson, AZ)

Catalina-Church-of-Midtown-Website

#3 - City of Grace (Mesa, AZ)

City of Grace Website

#4 - Cornerstone (Chandler, AZ)

Cornerstone Website

#5 - Crosspointe Church (Cary, NC)

Crosspointe Church Website

#6 - First Baptist Church (Orlando, FL)

First Baptist Orlando Website

#7 - Kingsfield Church (Irvine, CA)

Kingsfield Church Website

#8 - Lenexa Christian Center (Lenexa, KS)

Lenexa Christian Center Website

#9 - One* (Spokane, WA)

One* Website

#10 - The Life Church (Memphis, TN)

The Life Church Website

#11 - Windsor Crossing Community Church (Chesterfield, MO)

Windsor Crossing Community Church Website

For more church web design inspiration, check out the complete list of the Top 80 Church Websites. What other sites do you think should be on the list and why?

Comments

There are 28 comments for this post.

  1. Brian Jones on March 18, 2008 8:31 pm

    Kent,

    This is an outstanding list. I am forwarding this to our IT and web team and asking them to wade through them all for ideas. Thanks for taking the time to compile it.

    Press on.

    Brian Jones

  2. Jermayn Parker on March 18, 2008 9:32 pm

    Come on! Surely you guys can do better than this….

    One out of the top 80 is outside the US, what a joke! I am sorry but there are WAY more better web designs outside the US, open your eyes….

  3. Kent Shaffer on March 18, 2008 9:44 pm

    Jermayn,

    There are currently 5 from Canada and 1 from New Zealand, which equals 6 not 1 (Canada is not part of the United States).

    Still, only 6 of the 80 are from outside the United States. If anyone knows of some great non-U.S. church websites, let me know. I would love to add some more.

  4. IT Guy on March 19, 2008 7:13 am
  5. Wednesday Links | Subverting Mediocrity on March 19, 2008 7:57 am

    [...] Top 80 church web sites.  See them. [...]

  6. Mark O. on March 19, 2008 8:09 am

    Wow some really great websites there. Our church staff frequents this list to see what new and exciting ideas are out there for websites. Couple of questions though, what is the process for being considered to be on this list? What are the major qualifications that help you compile this list?

  7. Kent Shaffer on March 19, 2008 8:34 am

    IT Guy:
    Thanks for the link.

    Mark O:
    The list is very subjective. The first criteria I judge a site by is the aesthetics, including the overall balance of the layout. I also consider usability and basic web design principles. And sometimes a site’s creativity or innovation can help it get on the list or stay on the list even if its aesthetics are not the best.

    As for the process, when I see a site I like, I bookmark it. Eventually, I look through all of my bookmarked church websites and subjectively determine if any are good enough to replace a site that is already on the list.

  8. matt on March 19, 2008 8:51 am

    I need to protest #4. Its a rip off.

    http://viministry.com/

    The viministry site was up over a year before the cornerstone site. The sad part is, the same guy did both sites. Anyone who rips off his own work, it lame.

    These churches are less than 20 miles apart. Sure one is a church, and the other is a college ministry, but thats splitting hairs. A rip off is a rip off.

  9. Kent Shaffer on March 19, 2008 9:04 am

    Matt:
    I thought it looked familiar.

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    [...] 80 komeinta seurakunnan sivustoa 19 03 2008 Kent Shaffer on päivittänyt seitsemänkymmenenviiden hienoimman seurakunnan sivuston listaansa kymmenellä uudella tulokkaalla. Samalla kokonaismäärä on noussut kahdeksaan kymmeneen. Kieltämättä aika komeita sivustoja, mutta osa toisaalta aika simppeleitä. Oma kestosuosikkini on Lifechurch sijalla 54. Mitkä ovat mielestäsi upeimmat kotimaiset seurakunnan nettisivut? [lähde: Top 80 Church Websites | churchrelevance.com] [...]

  11. How to make an Effective Church website on March 19, 2008 10:20 pm

    [...] top designs out there. I have two lists for you. One is a top 50 from a designer and the other is a top 80 from a church [...]

  12. Web Sites of Interest » links for 2008-03-20 on March 19, 2008 11:22 pm

    [...] Top 80 Church Websites | churchrelevance.com (tags: design inspiration webdesign) steve on March 19th, 2008 | Filed under 15 | [...]

  13. In the Blogosphere « Kingdom People on March 21, 2008 4:28 am

    [...] Top 80 Church Websites [...]

  14. paul merrill on March 22, 2008 6:15 pm

    I know you said you value: “… the aesthetics … the overall balance of the layout [and] … usability and basic web design principles.”

    …But these sites tend to favor personality-based churches, mega-churches & program-oriented churches. I guess those are the ones who can afford a good-looking website.

    But none of those churches are ones I’d attend.

  15. stevo28andgrowing on March 24, 2008 10:19 pm

    Buckhead Church…yes! glad to meet you on Flickr.

  16. Circle at Seven Studio News » Blog Archive » This just in… Top 80 Church Websites! on March 25, 2008 2:52 pm

    [...] our design for the new Buckhead Church website was chosen #1! Thanks to the kind peeps at ChurchRelevance.com for making our [...]

  17. Circle at Seven Studio, Inc. on March 25, 2008 3:12 pm

    [...] our design for the new Buckhead Church website was chosen #1! Thanks to the kind peeps at ChurchRelevance.com for making our [...]

  18. Batsirai Chada on March 25, 2008 3:25 pm

    Check out http://www.theembassyofgod.com

    Recently Launched.

  19. flotsam & jetsam (3.20.08) : EX vilis CATHEDRA on March 25, 2008 3:38 pm

    [...] Top 80 Church Websites. [...]

  20. Josh Willaford on March 25, 2008 4:16 pm

    Take a look at James River Assembly’s Site

    jamesriver.org

  21. greg on March 27, 2008 8:05 am

    hey, check out this new site launched in january:

    http://www.valleychristianchurch.net

  22. Circle at Seven Studio, Inc. on April 3, 2008 2:36 pm

    [...] The new North Point Community Church website is now live! I wonder if it will tie with Buckhead’s site for #1? [...]

  23. Ray Mason on April 14, 2008 8:03 am

    I’m looking for web designers to put together my church site.

    I love the look of http://www.Stonebrair.org & http://www.pemburybaptistchurch.org in Kent,UK but for pure evangelism I haven’t seen one to better http://www.southsidelife.org

    Can any one help?

    In His service

    Ray

  24. Randy Wood on April 24, 2008 12:43 pm

    Check this out and tell us what ya think http://www.crosspointwlr.com

  25. Logan Duarte on June 18, 2008 3:14 am

    Take a look at Generatelife.com

  26. Scott Marks on December 26, 2008 2:20 am

    I really like the website http://www.stfaiths.org.au

    they are aussie and I reckon they have done a really good job and putting all the main stuff like podcasts rss’d onto the main page!

    Check it out!

  27. Tara on May 26, 2009 1:59 pm

    Check out this church site: http://www.felcodenton.org
    Feedback would be great. Thank you.

  28. Josh on June 10, 2009 8:08 pm

    Just redesigned our church website, and would love any suggestions on how to improve it.

    Thanks Kent for such a great list of sites that I could pull inspiration from!

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