The Challenge
Central Baptist Church in Port Saint Lucie, Florida serves a congregation in one of the fastest-growing regions in the state. The Treasure Coast is seeing significant population growth from retirees and young families relocating from across the country, and for a church in a growing community, the website is often the very first touchpoint for someone searching for a church home in an unfamiliar city.
Their previous site was difficult to update in-house, so the sermon archive had fallen behind, events weren't current, and first-time visitors were landing on a page that didn't reflect the active, welcoming church they'd actually find when they walked through the doors. Outdated information on a church website doesn't just fail to convert visitors — it actively signals that the church may not be active or welcoming.
Online giving was also underperforming. The existing giving integration had technical issues that made consistent recurring contributions unreliable, which affected the predictability of the church's monthly digital giving revenue. For a church that had worked to build a culture of online generosity, the platform wasn't supporting that culture the way it should.
The Solution
We designed a warm, welcoming church site that communicates culture from the very first scroll. Imagery, messaging, and layout were chosen to answer the visitor's core unspoken question: 'Is this a place where I would feel at home?' A dedicated 'Plan Your Visit' page consolidates service times, location, parking information, and a newcomer FAQ into a single resource for first-time visitors.
The sermon archive was rebuilt with a consistent weekly upload format that CalTech Web manages on an ongoing basis. Audio from the church's existing platform and video embedded from their YouTube channel are organized chronologically with series tags, so members can catch up on missed messages and visitors can sample the preaching before attending in person.
Online giving was rebuilt from the ground up with tested one-time and recurring giving flows, clear fund designations for general giving and the building fund, and mobile-optimized checkout. The platform was stress-tested before launch to ensure the reliability that consistent recurring contributions require.
How We Built It
From first call to live site, here is how Central Baptist Church’s project came together.
Discovery
Church culture interview, sermon archive format review, giving platform selection and configuration, and newcomer journey mapping for the Plan Your Visit page.
Design & Build
Warm, welcoming site built with Plan Your Visit page, sermon archive with series organization, rebuilt online giving with fund designations, and events calendar.
Review & Refine
Church leadership reviews newcomer flow, online giving on mobile, sermon archive organization, ministry pages, and staff bio accuracy.
Launch
Site launched with congregation-wide announcement, first sermon uploaded same week, and recurring giving platform tested and confirmed functional.
The Numbers Speak for Themselves
What We Built
Every feature below is included at $99/month, no add-ons, no surprises.
- Sermon archive with audio/video
- Online giving integration
- Events calendar
- Service times & location
- Ministry pages
- Staff & leadership bios
- Welcome & beliefs page
- Mobile-friendly responsive design
A Church Website's Most Important Job Is Removing the Barrier to the First Visit
When someone new to an area searches for a church, they're not just evaluating theology or style — they're managing the anxiety of walking into a room full of strangers for the first time. A church website that answers the logistical questions clearly (where do I park, what do I wear, where do the kids go, what time does it actually start) removes friction from that first visit decision in a way that a general 'Welcome' page doesn't. Central Baptist's Plan Your Visit page was built specifically for that person: someone who is seriously considering attending but needs their practical questions answered before they'll commit to showing up. Getting those logistics right is the website's most important conversion task, and it's the one most church sites neglect.
“Our church finally has a website that makes visitors feel welcome before they even walk through our doors. CalTech Web handles all the updates so we can focus on ministry.”
