Our first website review is kicking off with a bang. Why not start with one of the greatest examples of a church that uses digital to their advantage and have produced a benchmark for churches worldwide?! Enter Hillsong.
The moment you visit hillsong.com, you find large stunning images, interesting typography, a parallax effect on the homepage used to separate out the main pages they want to advertise and clear CTAs. The main image at the top of the homepage has ‘Jesus’ in large writing in the centre – expressing the church’s core message in a single word! There’s no question what or who Hillsong are all about from that.
There are plenty of images on the website and minimal amounts of text. This gives users an easy-to-use experience of the pages; it’s important to know that most people do not read text when they visit your website for the first time unless they are specifically reviewing a part of your website (like the about us page). With this in mind, images, bold headings, lists and buttons are key parts of engagement for your audience. Hillsong are a great example of this.
The locations of their churches are all advertised with iconic images of landmarks from each place. This brings a sense of familiarity for the users and gives them a connection point.
Each parallax section contains a great photograph with short, clear text and a CTA button. They present enough information to give the user an idea of what they are talking about, but not too much as to put them off. They are enticing the user to click the CTA buttons and to further engage with their website. Choosing good images is key here and a really powerful image can cause people to want to see more.
Overall, Hillsong have done a great job at presenting a homepage which is engaging, visually appealing, informative and clear in its message. All of Hillsong’s key initiatives are advertised here and are attracting the audience to find out more. The page is current, on-trend and works well across all platforms; a great example of how a church website homepage can work!
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
