Your Parish Website & Branding: A Match Made in Heaven

Before anyone reads a word of content or clicks a single link, your parish’s website is already communicating a great deal about your community. We all know that first impressions matter a lot, so it’s important to understand that your branding is speaking before you do. For this reason, the concepts of “branding” and a “website” shouldn’t be separate. Your parish brand isn’t just an accessory to your website — it is your website!

Your Website Expresses Your Brand

Think of your website as the digital front door to your parish. Whether someone is new to the area, returning to the Church, or checking Mass times before Sunday, your homepage is usually where they will go first. The colors, fonts, layout, and images that they see all begin to form their impression of your Catholic community.

Many people use the terms “logo” and “brand” interchangeably. Although a logo incorporates branding decisions and is part of your overall brand, it is just that — only a part of it. Making sure your website is branded correctly doesn’t just mean putting your logo in the corner of your site. Branding your site involves the actions and decisions you take to shape how people feel when they land on your homepage. 

For example, is it:

• Warm? 
• Traditional? 
• Modern? 
• Joyful? 
• Welcoming?

The choices you make in visual design and messaging encourage different feelings. When done right, your branding should make your website feel cohesive and trustworthy — two things that go a long way toward making someone want to return to your parish or visit in the first place.

As a church, your parish’s branding should be the cornerstone of your communication efforts. It should extend way past your website into all forms of communication. Branding that extends to everything — from bulletins to emails and more — creates a sense of uniformity and professionalism which, in turn, fosters trust among community members and those outside your community. 

Tone of Voice Is Branding, Too

Many people might think of branding as purely visual, but they’d be mistaken! The words you choose, how you say them, and even why you say them, matter just as much as the visual aspects of your brand. That’s why tone of voice is a key part of branding.

Does your parish speak in a warm, welcoming tone? Do you use formal language, or a more casual style? Are you focused on tradition? Do you emphasize community involvement and family life? All of these aspects of your community can come across in your brand’s “voice.”

The language on your homepage, “about us” page, event descriptions, and calls to action should all reflect your brand voice. This helps visitors feel like they’re getting to know you even before they meet you in person!

Your Brand Is the Cornerstone of Communication

Branding is the thread that ties everything together — your website, bulletin, signage, social media, emails, even the design of your offertory envelopes and church merchandise. That’s why it’s so important to consider your branding right from the start of your website planning, instead of as an afterthought.

When you lead your communication with branding, everything that follows will feel more unified and professional. For example, when correctly branded, people won’t see your bulletin and wonder if it came from a different parish. They’ll recognize your colors, your logo, your tone, and most importantly, they’ll feel that consistency. That builds trust, and trust builds community! 

How to Apply Your Brand to Your Website

So, how do you integrate your branding and make it work on your website?

Start with these basics:

• Logo placement — Top left corner is standard, although it’s not a hard and fast rule. Make sure your logo is high quality and consistent! 
• Color palette — Use your parish brand colors consistently on backgrounds, buttons, headers, and accents.
• Typography — Stick with one or two fonts that reflect your parish’s personality — not a dozen. Use the fonts in your logo if applicable.
• Images — Choose photos that reflect your community and match your brand’s energy. Photos of your actual parish and parishioners are always encouraged!
• Tone of Voice — Revisit your website copy and make sure it “sounds like” your parish. Many parishes have an agreed-upon “tone of voice” as part of their branding. 

Need Help Keeping It All Straight?

Working with LPi for your church branding means you’ll get a brand book that gathers all of your brand decisions into one easy-to-reference guide. Then, if you use our website builder, WeConnect, we’ll design your site with your brand built in from the ground up — no guesswork, no extra work on your part!

If you’re feeling a little lost on what exactly makes up a great church brand in the first place, we created a free guide to help! Check out: “Parish Branding Made Simple: A Guide to Logos, Identity, and Mission-Driven Catholic Brand Design.”