For the last 2 years, the pandemic has disrupted and impacted the world in unprecedented ways. With outbreak measures put into place around the world, social distancing has become the new normal in numerous parts of society in an attempt to flatten the curve.
As a response, many organizations have taken their businesses online. Religious services are reported to be flourishing online, spreading their message through new digital channels in order to reach out to their congregation. Many churches have started using social media platforms to share news and updates owing to the growing demand for online worship and sermons. Additionally, new research shows that churches and other places of worship have vital roles to play, post-pandemic, as community hubs to aid the recovery of society.
As we are slowly adjusting to our circumstances, staying home and going digital would be the best option for everyone. Therefore, if you are a religious organization in need of a website to promote your services and information to your congregation, you have visited the right page.
We have compiled some of the best Joomla templates for churches in need of a professional and visually appealing website. Carefully crafted by web development specialists, many of these templates are fully customizable and are packed with great features suited to your needs. Once you’ve selected a template, you will have access to a wide range of widgets, modules and features that can be used to tailor your website to your specific requirements.
The Best Joomla Templates Offer…
A great Joomla template for your church should offer great features like alternative module layouts and advanced theme options. You need to be able to adjust colours and module layouts to create a look for your website that is both unique and in keeping with your organization. If you have an existing color or branding image for your church, we highly suggest you tailor and personalize your site accordingly.
Your website should also provide simple features such as back-to-top buttons and dropdown menus, making it easy for one to manoeuvre around. User-friendliness should be key in your church website so that people will be able to access your services and information without much hassle. Additionally, your template needs to be responsive and cross-browser compatible so that it can be accessed from any browser, using any device. The benefit of a responsive website is its ability to be accessed at all times.
You might also want to consider various extensions for your Joomla template. As you go digital with your church, keep any website features that you would like to see at the forefront of your mind. Extensions for social media supporting exchanges and comments can be equipped if you would like to share what you publish on your website to various social media platforms.
News extensions such as the RAXO will allow you to display the latest news of your church with thumbnails on a dynamic main page of automatically renewable news blocks. We know how important it is for a church to disseminate information and to do it in a way that is effective and appealing would greatly improve the impression people have of your organisation.
Extensions facilitating communication can also be considered should you want to offer these services. Whether you need a live chat or forum feature, Joomla offers an extension for it. As a closely-knit community, features like these would bridge your church to your congregation through increased levels of engagement.
Without further ado, here are the best Joomla church templates we have curated that might benefit you in your search for a website.
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1. Charly – Responsive Church/Religious Joomla Theme
Inspiring a new spirit for the religious cause, Charly comes with a simple, neat, clean and catchy design for churches. Equipped with K2 component, this template allows you to quickly build a community, raise donations, as well as manage any content and events efficiently.
For those feeling a little lost, K2 provides:
“an out-of-the-box integrated solution featuring rich content forms for items (think of Joomla articles with additional fields for article images, videos, image galleries and attachments), nested-level categories, tags, comments, a system to extend the item base form with additional fields, a powerful plugin API to extend item, category and user forms, ACL, frontend editing, sub-templates and a lot more.”
Using K2, you can transform your church website into a news/magazine page supporting blogs, product catalogues, knowledge base, download/document manager, directory listing, event listings and more. Therefore, it is essential that you have an idea of the features you would like to integrate.
Charly is a template built on the YT Framework V3 and consist of many powerful in-house extensions. It comes with an easy-to-customize administration, giving you the control to build, customize and handle your church website with a wide range of easy tasking features. Moreover, the template is integrated with the latest YT Shortcode version which includes 65+ useful shortcodes. This will allow you to easily add any stunning content without needing to touch a single line of code.
With 2 different homepage layouts, rest assured that this template will satisfy your basic needs. Greet your visitors with an easy to navigate homepage that includes social media links and a search bar. By providing a search bar, you will be giving visitors a great opportunity to access the pages that they need in a short amount of time. Language options are also displayed in the header, supplying your website with accessibility choices should you require supporting another vernacular.
As they scroll, visitors will be able to see any upcoming events hosted by your church, and the option to register for them. The inclusion of an SJ Contact Ajax extension will easily manage any online activities that you have planned. Visitors will also be able to read up on your organization, community, and any charity work you may be involved in. Subsequently, the template allows you to introduce your pastor and easily provide access to your sermons, blogs, and news- all on one page. Lastly, a call to action donation button has been added to the bottom of the page in a way that does not come across as too obtrusive.
These layouts are fully responsive and will look good across all devices and browsers, so rest assured that you will be getting your information out there. With the template’s mega menu, you can show categories and news with description, image, video, effects. Other features supported by this template includes RTL (Right-To-Left) language, a front-end panel for changing theme and layout, typography variations, and various Font Family and Google Fonts.
Get this template for $48 which comes with Charly’s template package, a QuickStart installation package, extension packages, and full documentation. In addition, you get a free lifetime supply of updates and 6-month support from the author. Translating your church organization online has been made easy with this Joomla template.
Access more information about Charly here, or view the live preview here.
2. JSN Dona – Responsive and Impressive Multipurpose Joomla Template
JSN Dona is a remarkable multipurpose Joomla template specially designed for church organizations and various nonprofits. This template comes with 6 niche designs suitable for religion, business, charity, education, politics and portfolio. Built on the most popular JSN Sun Framework, it boasts itself as a modern, innovatory multipurpose tool and a “complete solution” for building a Joomla website. Being the “foundation” of all Joomla templates, JSN Dona has been created for both developers and non-coders to help you build the church website you need.
The inclusion of a Drag & Drop page builder tool will let you drag elements with ease and a JSN PageBuilder 3 allows for the editing of articles in the back and front-end. Both of these tools ensure that you can build your church website in minutes with no coding skills required.
Apart from an outstanding design, niche-specific features, and a series of customization options, JSN Dona will empower you to create a strikingly intuitive website that will impress site visitors. Greet your congregation with a modern homepage slider showcasing your church or your people.
Additionally, you have the choice of listing content requiring attention and the various charities you might be involved in to prompt donations and service. This will show the stance of your church toward any social or worldly issues. Upcoming events such as sermons or other community-related activity can also be listed with a trendy countdown timer to draw the attention of your visitor. Programs and events, testimonials, and the latest news of your church have also been designated space on your homepage, encapsulating all there is to know about your organization. Lastly, a directory extension has been included to locate your building which would be very effective in the near future.
One interesting thing about this template is its option to explore the admin demo which would essentially be what you’ll see upon purchase of the template. This will prepare you for a post-purchase process by allowing you to experience what it’s like being an admin to your church site.
When it comes to the overall layout, JSN Dona offers a module position, a placeholder in a template where prompts will be given on where to place output from modules assigned to a particular position. 36+ module positions will allow you multiple layout configurations that are collapsible and can be arranged horizontally or vertically. The template’s layout is also responsive and supports RTL languages, and a 404 error page.
For design, JSN Dona includes a combination of 6 color variations, 5 menu styles, and 6 module styles in addition to super-rich typography. Each color variation covers the main background, the drop-down menu, links, table’s header and more. Menu style variations include a mega menu, tree menu, size menu, and a mobile menu. The allowances for customization will make the content of your church website look stunning and comprehensive to your visitors.
Retailing at $48, JSN Dona also comes with a powerful admin interface, sample data that can be exported, advanced built-in tools, and a backup and restore function. Put your trust in this template if you want a professionally-looking church website to reach out to your congregation.
Check out what other customers have to say about the template:
Read more information about JSN Dona here, or check out its live preview.
3. IT Sanctum – Gantry 5, Church & Nonprofit Joomla Template
IT Sanctum is a dedicated Joomla church template built on the powerful Gantry 5 Framework. Gantry 5 is a comprehensive set of building blocks enabling the rapid development and realization of a design into a flexible and powerful web platform theme. With this framework, expect your church website to be packed full of features to the development of your design into fully functional layouts with the absolute minimum effort and fuss.
Setting the right first impression is essential and showcasing your church with stunning quotes or visuals through the homepage slider can prolong your visitor’s stay. Minimally designed, Sanctum’s demo introduces a potential visitor to a menu of services, links to social media, and a button for donations. This design is modern and clean, which can also double as a business website should you want to take a more corporate stance.
Through the homepage, easily display your church’s mission, work, and involvement in the community. Sermons and worship-related timings and schedule can also be displayed for quick access to information. One thing which makes Sanctum stand out from the rest is its inclusion of a ministry section divided into adults, kids, youth, women, music and creation. If you would like to showcase the various ministries in your church, this template should be included in your list of shortlisted websites.
Furthermore, you can also choose to showcase your pastors, provide short write-ups about them, and link their social media accounts. This would allow a visitor to know the leaders of your church and get acquainted with them should they wish to join your congregation.
When it comes to design, Sanctum is equipped with many custom particles which brings all the needed features for your church site – PayPal Donate particle and Media Box particle for sermons. These are just some of the many tools simplifying essential content to be brought across to your visitors. You will also be able to tap into unlimited module positions and colors for a full customization process to tailor your church website according to your brand. More into the bargain, the UIkit Framework will provide you with a comprehensive collection of HTML, CSS, and JS components to create your own look.
Other features offered that might help you in your decision-making process: a layout manager, menu editor, category blog, search results, member login, 404 error page, FAQ, contacts, documentation and pages for sermons, ministry, and pastor. Do run through the list to see if there are attributes that would benefit your religious website.
We recommend this Joomla template to any church wanting to reach out to their congregation amid these volatile times to provide support and spiritual relief. Donation options are also naturally integrated into the site, should you require some funds from your community.
For $59, Sanctum comes with strong documentation and video tutorials that will help you configure your church website. Item support includes the availability of the author to answer technical questions related to the template and features, assistance with reported bugs and issues, and help with included 3rd party assets. However, do note that customization and installation services are not included.
More information about Sanctum can be accessed here, or view the live preview here.
4. St. Christ – Church & Charity Joomla Template
St. Christ is a Joomla template created especially for churches and charities that come with a variety of features that your church website will need. With 10+ inner pages, the template is packed with a bunch of prebuilt pages that are “carefully constructed to showcase an intuitive design”. If the demo’s design is to your liking, simply import and fill in your church’s information to have your site up and running in mere minutes.
This template is also compatible with a series of extensions that will make your customization process a breeze. Compatible with TZ Portfolio+, the “best Joomla portfolio extension”, showcase your latest portfolio works or sermons in a way that is flexible, responsive, and powerful. Additionally, an extensive collection of TZ Portfolio Addons have been added. Songs and videos are supported through a Music addon which will add value to your sermons in a way that looks clean and effective. A Charity Addon will allow your visitors to donate via PayPal which can be managed by an admin.
On the other hand, if you are looking to sell equipment, religious supplies, or would like to expand your organization to sell online, a HikaShop eCommerce extension is also compatible with the template. Set up your online store through a system that will allow you to facilitate transactions effortlessly.
An SP Page Builder based on the Astroid Framework also offers a Drag & Drop layout builder that allows you to completely handle your interface through the adding or removing of elements. For people with limited to no knowledge in coding, fret not, for you do not have to touch a single line of code.
For churches wanting to foster a strong community, EasyBlog and EasySocial are compatible extensions providing just that. EasyBlog lets you compose, manage, and publish elegant and sleek articles with ease while EasySocial has features that will fulfil any growing community needs and wants. Komento, a comment extension for Joomla, will have you engaging with readers on your site regarding the topics you publish. These features offer a digital form of fellowship that will still cultivate a sense of belonging for your church.
Features aside, when it comes to design, St. Christ offers 7 complete page layouts for your church. Display essential information about your sermon timings, contact information, and address in the header for visitors to access them with ease. Sponsors and a volunteer section have also been included on the homepage that other templates do not. If these are important services to your church, this might be the best template for you. We recommend this template to anyone who might need to capture more services for their website, such as an eCommerce and blogging feature on top of other common attributes offered across all Joomla church templates.
Get St. Christ for $39, accompanied by a lifetime of updates, 6 months VIP support, and unlimited domain usage.
Read more about the template here, or view the live preview here.
5. New Life Church Joomla Template
New Life Church is a modern Joomla template tailored for religious web projects and churches. Marketing itself as “visually appealing, interactive, and mobile-friendly”, this template might keep you at the top of your game for starting an efficient website. Built on an open-source Bootstrap Framework, you will be able to produce a responsive web design utilizing HTML and CSS based themes for typography, fonts, forms, buttons, tables, and more.
Having a responsive website ensures that your page changes its size and shape to match any specific display screen. For every gadget, web page components expand or greatly reduce to look ideal. As a church organization, it is important that you offer all kinds of users better possibilities to access your information. Being responsive means that the accessibility and usability of your website is one less thing to worry about.
New Life Church comes with a mega menu that allows you to organize your categories and subcategories easily into posts, blog categories, and latest works. The blogging feature can keep your visitors engaged through a seamless experience of community bonding. Additionally, the social login feature will also aid you in the facilitation of any comments to ensure your website is kept free of any malicious content. It is important that you keep your religious website a safe place for everyone.
Control what you want visitors to see through the website’s slideshow. A call to action button has been equipped on the header to allow for the promotion of any activity. This could come in the form of donations, volunteers, or event signups. You may also choose to make use of the video feature embedded within the homepage to show elements of your church, or any past events. On many occasions, it is better to show than tell, and the demo’s gallery can be utilized to display a variety of pictures encapsulating the energy and services of your church.
Options for newsletter subscription, contact forms, Google Maps, and Google Fonts are a few of many features you should expect to get upon the purchase of this $49 template. We recommend New Life Church for church organizations aspiring to come across as youthful and fresh.
Check out some reviews people have of this template:
Click here to get more information about the template.
Final Words
As a church or any religious nonprofits, having a website will undoubtedly boost the reputation and outreach of your organization.
As more people are gathered online, churches now have to find new ways to bridge themselves to their congregation. Social media platforms, paired with a functioning website, will ensure you are well-covered digitally and provide access to visitors who might require your services.
We hope that this list of the best Joomla church templates has helped you consider the various aspects of website selection, and we would like to wish you luck in your decision-making process.
Did any template catch your eye? Let us know in the comments below!
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