How to choose the best church website hosting provider

Just as a well-maintained physical space fosters connection and growth within your church, reliable web hosting ensures that your digital space is always open, welcoming, and secure. 

Whether you're sharing uplifting messages, coordinating community events, or connecting with members online, understanding the importance of web hosting is key to ensuring your digital community thrives. 

Let's explore why web hosting is important,  what to look for when choosing a website host, and the top options for your church.

What to look for in a church website hosting provider

Web hosting plays a pivotal role in ensuring the accessibility, performance, and security of a website. It provides the necessary infrastructure and resources for a website to go live on the internet. 

When selecting a website hosting provider for a church, it's crucial to evaluate both key features and pricing plans. 

Site accessibility & uptime

Web hosting services store your website's files on servers that are connected to the internet 24/7. Reliable web hosting providers offer high uptime guarantees, minimizing the risk of downtime and ensuring that your website is available when users need it. This constant accessibility is crucial for maintaining the credibility and reputation of your church's website. 

Site speed 

The site performance and speed of your website is heavily influenced by your hosting provider. Web hosting providers with robust infrastructure and optimized servers ensure that your website loads quickly, which is crucial for keeping visitors engaged, better SEO results, and lower bounce rates. 

Site security 

Web hosting providers implement various security measures to protect your website from potential threats such as malware, denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and unauthorized access. They also provide tools for regular backups, ensuring that your website's data can be restored in case of any issues. This level of security is crucial for protecting sensitive information, especially if you collect donations on your website.  

Scalability 

As your congregation grows, your website should be able to adapt to your needs. A good web hosting provider offers scalability. This flexibility ensures that your website can continue to perform well and meet the needs of your audience, regardless of its size or complexity.

Technical support 

Top-notch web hosting providers offer technical support and resources to assist you in managing and maintaining your website. Whether it's helping with server configurations, troubleshooting issues, or providing guidance on best practices, the support from your hosting provider is a crucial resource.

Budget 

Budget is a significant consideration for churches, as funds are often allocated to various essential community services and activities. Finding a hosting provider that offers competitive pricing is vital. Look for providers that offer transparent pricing without hidden fees and provide good value for the services they offer. Some hosting providers also offer discounts for non-profit organizations, so it's worth inquiring about any special pricing available for churches.

Top 5 church website hosting providers

1. Subsplash

With over 17,000 churches and organizations using their digital tools, Subsplash Websites is an ideal web hosting provider designed specifically for churches. Their platform's custom church templates, paired with a powerful drag-and-drop editor, empower you to quickly and effortlessly create a stunning website. With Subsplash, your church's content is not only easier to share but also more accessible to search engines.

Pros 

  • Ease of use. The intuitive drag-and-drop interface ensures that anyone, regardless of technical expertise, can add content, images, and other elements to their church's website.
  • Built for churches. Subsplash offers church-focused templates that come with everything a church needs for their website. Extra features like integrations with online giving, event calendars, sermon notes, and media hosting and delivery make sure your church's website makes the biggest impact possible.
  • Optimized for mobile. With a mobile-friendly design, Subsplash guarantees that your website provides a consistent and user-friendly experience across various devices.
  • Good for SEO. SEO tools and integration with Subsplash Media boost your website's search engine ranking. So, more people in the community can find you online. 
  • Rich media integration. Incorporate videos, podcasts, images, and live streams to enrich your website's content and engage your audience.

Cons 

  • Learning curve. New users may need some time to familiarize themselves with the platform and its features.

Pricing 

Subsplash offers a wide range of digital tools with multiple pricing options to meet any church's budget. [.blog-contact-cta]Schedule a free demo [.blog-contact-cta]with a member of our team to get started with Subsplash Websites. 

2. Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the leading WordPress website hosting providers. With its user-friendly, simple interface, Bluehost is particularly well-suited for beginners. 

Pros

  • Beginner-friendly. The platform is designed with simplicity in mind. So, you don't need to have a tech background to use this hosting provider. 
  • Seamless WordPress integration. As a hosting provider recommended by WordPress, Bluehost offers one-click installations. 
  • Above-average customer support. Available 24/7 via live chat, phone, and email, Bluehost ensures that help is always at hand. 

Cons

  • Higher costs upon renewal. Users should be mindful of the renewal rates, as they can be significantly higher than the initial sign-up cost.
  • Aggressive upselling. Some users on review sites find the company's upselling tactics post-signup to be too aggressive. 
  • Not great for non-WordPress sites. Bluehost is designed for WordPress websites. If you are using a less well-known CMS, you may find the interface hard to navigate.  

Pricing

Starting at $2.95 per month, Bluehost offers affordable pricing for its shared hosting plans. 

3. HostGator

Backed by a 99.9% uptime guarantee, HostGator is one of the most versatile web hosting providers. They offer a comprehensive range of hosting options including shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers.

Pros

  • Budget friendly. HostGator's shared hosting plans are known for being affordable and high quality.  
  • Consistent uptime & performance. With a 99.9% uptime guarantee, HostGator ensures that your website remains accessible and loads quickly. 
  • Intuitive control panel. The platform features a user-friendly control panel. Managing and maintaining your website is simple even for those who don't have a technical background.  

Cons

  • Inconsistent customer support. Some users on review sites say they experience inconsistencies in the quality of customer support received.
  • Aggressive upselling. Some users also mention pushy sales tactics upon signup and renewal.  

Pricing 

HostGator's pricing page can be daunting to navigate. They have many different plans and product offerings. However, the cheapest, shared hosting plans start around $15.99 per month. 

4. SiteGround

SiteGround has established itself as a leader in the web hosting industry. It is known across the industry for its exceptional customer service and high-performance hosting solutions.

SiteGround offers shared hosting, cloud hosting, and dedicated servers, all with a strong emphasis on speed and security.

Pros 

  • Outstanding customer support. SiteGround is widely recognized for its responsive and knowledgeable customer support team. Their support is available 24/7 via live chat, phone, and email. 
  • Fast site speeds. With SSD storage and data centers strategically located around the world, SiteGround guarantees fast loading times, contributing to a seamless user experience.
  • Robust security measures. The platform provides advanced security features, including daily backups, SSL certificates, and DDoS protection. 

Cons

  • Expensive. SiteGround's pricing is on the higher end compared to some of its competitors. 
  • Limited storage on cheaper plans. The lower-tier hosting plans come with limited storage space, which might necessitate an upgrade as your website grows. This is particularly important to remember if you do any live-streaming or have a large video library of sermon recordings. 

Pricing

SiteGround's shared hosting starts at $15 per month for a two-year commitment. 

5. AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Known for its scalability, reliability, and widespread adoption by some of the world's largest websites and corporations, AWS operates on a unique pay-as-you-go pricing model. 

Pros

  • Scalability. AWS provides an environment that adapts to varying traffic volumes. You don't have to worry about your website crashing if you get a big spike in visitors. 
  • Global reach. With a network of data centers spread across the globe, AWS guarantees low latency and high-performance access for a worldwide audience.
  • Diverse range of services. From computing power and database storage to content delivery, AWS's comprehensive suite of services caters to a myriad of website needs and functionalities.

Cons

  • Complex pricing structure. Navigating AWS's pricing can be daunting. There are horror stories about inexperienced developers incurring big bills because they set something up wrong or missed a key setting.  
  • Steep learning curve. Beginners may find AWS's extensive range of tools and services overwhelming. 
  • Built for developers. If you don't have a web development team or a CTO at your church, you may struggle with getting set up and dealing with routine web maintenance. 

Pricing  

AWS adopts a developer-friendly pricing structure, but it's easy to incur higher costs than anticipated if you're not fully versed in managing the services. They provide this pricing calculator to help estimate costs, and there are even startups dedicated to solving the complexities of AWS pricing. 

Choose the host with the most

With so many different website hosting providers out there, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one works best. 

However, if you are looking for a church-specific website builder, then you may want to look into Subsplash Websites. The added benefit of using a solution like Subsplash is you can also get a full-on church engagement platform, so you can get additional features to help you manage everything from your website and donations to communication, events, and live-streaming all in one place.

[.blog-contact-cta]Schedule your free demo today[.blog-contact-cta] to learn more!

Author

Jessica Malnik, Guest author
jessicamalnik.com

Jessica is a copywriter and content strategist with over 10 years' experience in SaaS marketing. Her work has appeared on industry-leading websites like Social Media Examiner, The Next Web, Help Scout, and more. When she's not writing, you'll usually find her watching MasterChef or schooling people on 90s pop culture trivia.

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