Do you want to create a WordPress site for your church? Choosing the right theme is a critical part of the process. A church website should be informative and help congregants find exactly what they are looking for.
WordPress is one of the most popular platforms for websites and blogs – and it’s perfect for churches that do not have web design teams or big budgets on their side. All it takes is to choose the right theme for your design.
Luckily, there are plenty of pre-built themes that are perfect for churches. In this post, we’ll explore the top 14 WordPress themes for churches and other religious organizations.
Why Use A Church-Specific WordPress Theme?
There are thousands of WordPress themes available that you can customize to fit your church’s aesthetic, but using a WordPress church theme is the easiest way to create a professional site that you can easily customize to your church’s specific needs.
That doesn’t mean that your church site will look run-of-the-mill or uninspiring. You can customize your theme according to your own branding elements, including changing the fonts and colors or adapting other elements to your church’s brand guidelines.
If you need extra functionality for your website that your theme doesn’t offer by default, you can usually add it with a plugin. For example, if your chosen church theme doesn’t include a donation portal, you can add one with a donation plugin like GiveWP or Donation Forms by Charitable. Any good WordPress theme will integrate with a multitude of plugins.
A WordPress church theme is designed to have most (if not all of the features) your church or non-profit organization will need, including event management tools (like an events calendar), contact forms, and podcasting tools so you can add sermons to your site.
When you are looking for a theme for your church website, always look for the following elements:
- Flexibility: A WordPress church theme should offer flexibility so you can customize the design according to your brand.
- Events management: There should be a calendar or event management feature so that you can share information about church fundraisers, events, services, and sermons.
- SEO optimization: A theme with built-in SEO optimization will bring more traffic to your site.
- Easy to use: It should be easy to add content and image to your church website without any knowledge of code. Customization options should be accessible directly through the WordPress admin area.
By using an intuitive WordPress church theme, it’s easy for non-technical people (like volunteers or church administrators) to manage their church’s site content without hiring developers or designers. Now let’s look at some of the best WordPress church themes for your church or non-profit organization’s website.
The 14 best WordPress church themes
There are dozens of great WordPress church themes, but we think that the ones in this list are the best around. In this section, we highlight what we like about each theme so you can choose the one that works for you.
1. Creativo
Creativo is an extremely versatile and popular WordPress theme with over 20,000 users. The theme has 26 pre-built websites that can be used for any website. One of these is built for church websites, and it’s called Creativo Church.
To unlock this theme, simply go to Creativo > Demo Templates -> WP Bakery and Install the Church template.
The Creativo church theme is perfect for any church or non-profit. You can add events, sermons, service times, news, and information, or even create a blog where you can add regular content.
There’s also a contact form where potential new members can ask questions. These elements can be customized according to your preference.
Creativo comes with a Live Options view, so you can edit everything in the front end of your church website, making it much easier to use if you aren’t familiar with coding.
We like this theme because it’s loaded with theme options, highly customizable, and completely responsive, so your church website will look great on any device (Creativo is also Retina ready, which makes for sharper images on larger screens).
You can unlock full flexibility with the free version of Elementor. Elementor integrates with Creativo and unlocks more than fifty Creativo elements that can be used to configure your site.
and create custom pages, like Call To Action buttons, Video Pop-Ups, and Google Maps Integrations, to name a few. Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder, so it’s really easy to access widgets and customize your church website.
Creativo is particularly great for novices because it comes with premium support and plenty of training videos on YouTube, so you can use the theme efficiently. The theme comes with rich, written documentation as well. Updates will be automatically downloaded and installed as they become available.
If you are looking for a WordPress church theme that is easy to build and customize without hiring a developer and want to get up and running quickly, Creativo Church is the place to start. Get Creativo today and stand out from the crowd.
2. Ultra
Ultra is a theme made by Themify that includes 140+ site demos that you can import into your WordPress church site. The Church template was specifically created with churches in mind. There’s a lot to like about this theme. You can customize your site with plenty of header and footer layout options and post layout options. There are more than 600+ Google web fonts to choose from, and you can add customizable website logo text or upload your logo to brand your church website.
Like Creativo, there is a built-in drag-and-drop builder and WooCommerce integration if you want to sell products as part of a fundraiser or accept donations. There are also quite a few add-ons and plugins, like slideshows and videos.
Ultra is coded with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind. You can also add an app to your site for your congregation to download so they can stay in touch while on the go.
If we had to nitpick, however, the learning curve is a little steeper than Creativo, and there aren’t as many templates to choose from, so it’s probably not the best option for beginners. Other than that, you’ll find that Ultra is a stable and flexible WordPress church theme with plenty of options for customization.
3. WP Astra
Astra is a popular WordPress theme with more than 230 starter templates, including a church theme. The theme is lightweight and, with default WordPress data, should load in less than a second.
Astra comes with native support for several popular page builders, including Beaver Builder, Elementor, and Gutenberg. Like Creativo and Ultra, it comes with built-in SEO optimization and can integrate with payment methods if you want to use your site for fundraising.
Their WordPress church theme is modern but potentially a little busy, which can distract users from finding the information they are looking for.
4. Divi
Elegant Themes offer a Church layout pack as part of a set of free layouts included for all Divi customers. The WordPress church theme is beginner-friendly, with plenty of built-in features and functionality that make it easy to create a church website from scratch.
Divi comes with responsive editing, so you can customize your site for different devices, background image and video support, and several colors and animations. On the downside, you need to be a Divi customer to use this theme. If you want to use a different page builder, like Elementor, it’s not your best option.
5. OceanWP
OceanWP is a free WordPress theme that can be used to create many different websites. It supports most of the popular page builders, so you can easily customize your website and create landing pages. There is a WordPress church theme that is modern without being too busy, which gives it a slight edge over WP Astra.
There are several built-in demo websites and a 1-click content importer, so it’s easy to get up and running in a pinch.
While the themes are attractive and easy to implement, the one disadvantage is that many of the Pro features would be free with other templates (including all-important access to Elementor widgets). This can make OceanWP a more expensive option.
6. Prayer
Prayer is a theme made by CSS Igniter. The theme is best described as a multi-purpose WordPress church theme that can be used to create a website for churches, charities, or NGO sites. It’s very affordable, supported by several custom post types, and has good content management options for sharing sermons, sharing information with staff members, and event management.
Prayer is responsive, so it presents well on tablets, smartphones, and desktop computers alike. Its main advantage is that it is compatible with Divi, Beaver Builder, and Elementor, but it’s not as inspiring as some of the other options on the list in terms of design.
7. Jubilee
Jubilee is a professional, easy-to-use point-and-click homepage builder. You can use the Customizer tool to change the colors and fonts. You can use organic, angular, or square shapes to get creative with your designs.
Like all of the themes on offer, the Church Content plugin can be used to publish a sermon archive, event calendar, or team profiles. You can also publish custom pages, blog posts, and testimonies. We also like its ability to create a simple “Plan a Visit” page, call to action, and podcasting tools.
Jubilee is built by ChurchThemes, as are the next four themes in our list. We’re listing them individually, but keep in mind that you can’t purchase them separately.
8. Saved
Saved offers robust functionality out of the box without unnecessary complexity. It’s custom-built for churches, which means there is no need to shift through unnecessary features or demos.
Saved uses a widget-based homepage builder, which makes it easy for anyone to use, even with no coding skills. The top of the homepage can be used to feature a background video or image.
The customization menu makes it easy to add features and organize the layout while watching the changes load in real time. Saved makes it fast and fun to design your church website.
9. Exodus
Exodus has a flat design and a wide layout. It’s responsive and adapts seamlessly to phone or tablet screens.
Like the other themes, it’s easy to customize and adapt according to your church’s logo and branding. You can add sermons in text, audio, or video form, add maps and directions and create a sermon archive organized by topic, series, book, and speaker.
There’s also a blog, photo galleries, and the ability to create custom pages with whichever content you’d like.
10. Resurrect
Resurrect is an urban-inspired, mobile-friendly WordPress church theme that is easy to customize according to dark or light color schemes.
You can add your favorite fonts, logo image, or custom background. Visitors can find sermons by topic, book, series, or speaker if you use the Church Content plugin. Resurrect also support locations and profiles.
11. Maranatha
Maranatha has a dark background and custom color choices, so you can create an elegant church website. It comes with fullscreen video background capabilities, real-time customization options, an events calendar, and easy navigation menus.
12. Renew
Mint Themes offers three different church themes that you can purchase separately. Each theme comes with multiple templates to work with, demo content, and a page builder.
The first one is Renew, a highly versatile theme with 20-page template layouts. It focuses on new visitors and is great for relaying information about church services and what to expect.
Renew presents information in an organized way, with a Ministries page full of helpful links.
Renew is a highly versatile theme with 20-page template layouts. It focuses on new visitors and is great for relaying information about church services and what to expect. Renew presents information in an organized way, with a Ministries page full of helpful links.
13. Restore
According to Mint Themes, this design is focused on the imagery of reclaimed wood and the earth, creating a rugged but simple feeling. There are many subtle animations and seven different page layouts to speed up the design process.
14. Growing
The Growing theme is focused on nature, simplicity, and growth. The main featured image is that of a sunrise, creating a feeling of hope and new beginnings. The font is neutral and easy to read. The Growing theme template includes a section to highlight a promo video and events calendar.
What’s the Best Church Theme for WordPress?
From all the options in our list, one WordPress church theme stands out from the rest: Creativo.
Creativo Church is the perfect basis for your church’s own website. This pre-built site has a clean and simple design with plenty of attractive elements such as a slider for religious quotes and an events calendar that’s easy to navigate. You can embed sermons as videos on your site, and create a beautiful page about your church’s community.
Of course, the default site is just the start as you can customize Creativo Church as much as you like. Creativo integrates with Elementor, giving you over 50 Creativo Elements work with to make your church’s identity stand out. You can edit your site using Creativo’s Live Options view so you can see how changes look on your site as you’re making them.
If you need a simple and sophisticated church website that you can build easily, check out Creativo today.
