Best Practices for Website Pages

Recommended page structure, image sizing, branding/styling, and simple, guest-friendly navigation.

1) Start Simple: 3–5 Core Pages

You don’t need a big site to be effective. Most churches can start with:

If you want 3 pages

• Home — Big welcome, service times, location, quick “Plan Your Visit / I’m New” button.
• About / Beliefs — Who you are, what you believe, leadership.
• Give / Next Steps — Online giving + simple next steps (groups, serving, baptism, membership).

If you want 4–5 pages

Add one or two of these:

• Plan Your Visit — Parking, kids check-in, what to expect + a Digital Guest Card/form.
• Groups / Ministries — Overview or a Groups List element.
• Events / Calendar — Embed your Connection Card Pro event list or calendar.

2) Branding & Styling

Stay consistent with your church brand

• Choose one primary color and one accent color that match your logo.
• Use one heading font and one body font (avoid more than two).
• Keep the page builder’s Style settings aligned with your Connection Card Pro branding so forms, giving, and events feel unified.

Make content easy to read

• Ensure strong contrast (dark text on light background or vice-versa).
• Break long text into short paragraphs, headings, and bullets.
• Use generous white space for a modern, scannable layout.

3) Image Sizing & Quality

Great images matter, but oversized files slow pages down. Aim for:

• Cover / hero banners: ~1600–1920px wide, 16:9 or similar; keep files < 400–500 KB after compression.
• Regular content images: ~1000–1400px wide, ideally < 300 KB.
• Staff / bio photos: portrait, ~600–800px tall.
• Use JPG for photos; PNG for graphics/logos with transparency.
• Avoid text-heavy images as primary content (Any text close to any of the edges will likely be cut off, especially on mobile, & not searchable).

Tip: Choose bright, welcoming photos that look like your people—not generic stock.

4) Site Menu (Navigation) Best Practices

Your top menu should make it obvious where to go in 1–2 clicks.

Keep the menu short

• Aim for 4–7 top-level items. Common examples:
  • Home
  • I’m New / Plan Your Visit
  • Ministries / Groups
  • Messages / Media
  • Events
  • Give
  • Contact

Make labels clear, not clever

• Use straightforward words: “Plan Your Visit” beats “Start Your Journey”.
• Keep key actions visible: “Give”, “Plan Your Visit”, “I’m New”.

Control what appears in the menu

• On each page, only check “Create a Link to this page in the Site Menu” if it should be public and easy to find.
• Leave special or one-time pages out of the menu; link them from emails, social posts, or buttons instead.

5) Content & Layout Tips

• Put the most important information near the top (who you are, when you meet, where to go).
• Give every page a clear next step — buttons like “Plan Your Visit,” “Register,” “Join a Group,” or “Give Now.”
• Preview on mobile and tweak crowded sections for small screens.