While Church Center is an excellent tool for registrations and member engagement, its website functionality is limited, offering little flexibility for design, storytelling, or robust content.

Key issues included:

• Minimal customization options → hard to visually represent the church’s identity.
• Navigation limitations → difficult for newcomers to learn about ministries and events.
• Lack of storytelling space → unable to feature member stories, blogs, or deeper ministry content.
• Church Center is designed primarily as an app, not a full storytelling platform.

The church needed a user-friendly, visually engaging website that could serve as a true digital hub while continuing to use Church Center as a complementary app for registrations and internal engagement.

Website Before: Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Home Page (Church Center)

Website Before: Gloria Dei Preschool Page

Strategy & Approach

My goal was to create a modern, welcoming, and narrative-driven website that clearly communicates who Gloria Dei is, what the church offers, and how people can get involved.

Key strategic choices:

• Platform: Built the site on Duda, which allows for drag-and-drop editing, making it easy for staff and volunteers to update content after launch. This platform was chosen over Wordpress due to it's low cost - which is important in a church.
• Visual Storytelling: Integrated high-quality photos of members throughout the site to reflect the church’s warm and authentic community.
• Content Expansion: Developed detailed pages for ministries, events, and small groups, allowing visitors to explore and connect in meaningful ways.
• Blog Integration: Added a blog to highlight devotionals, stories, reflections, and campaigns, giving Gloria Dei a flexible platform to tell its story beyond weekly services.
• User Experience: Designed intuitive navigation and clear calls-to-action to guide both first-time visitors and long-time members.

• Homepage: Serves as a warm, visual welcome with clear pathways for newcomers (e.g., “Plan Your Visit”) and members (e.g., “Get Involved”).

• Ministries & Events Pages: Provide space to highlight each ministry with photos, descriptions, and upcoming opportunities.

• Blog: A storytelling hub that aligns with devotional campaigns (e.g., Faith on the Move), member features, and event recaps.

• App Integration: Church Center is linked throughout for registrations, while its role shifts to supporting app rather than primary website.

• Responsive Design: Fully optimized for mobile and tablet viewing.
  

Impact & Future Goals

This redesign lays the foundation for stronger digital engagement and more effective storytelling. Expected outcomes include:



• A more welcoming and informative first impression for visitors.
• Increased engagement with ministries and events through improved navigation and content.
• Greater flexibility to share stories, devotionals, and campaigns through the blog.
• Easier site management for staff, freeing up time for ministry rather than tech troubleshooting.
• 
  

As the site rolls out, we plan to track engagement through analytics, monitor traffic to key pages, and use the blog to continue expanding Gloria Dei’s digital presence.