Ephesians 5:16 encourages us to go about “making the most of every opportunity” and that has to be an imperative in today’s world where the online and offline are seamlessly integrated. While churches are known for preserving important traditions of faith, some churches are also making the most of today’s opportunity by using the latest technology. More and more churches are upgrading their digital identity with .church domain names.
Already, more than 30% of churches on the Outreach 100 lists are using .church domains and tens of thousands of other churches too. Churches of all sizes, denominations, and age are being found more easily by using .church as their web address on the Internet.
Before we itemize the benefits of using a .church domain name, here’s what church leaders are saying about why they upgraded to .church for their web presence:
Just Say: “Check us out Canvas.Church”
“We want to keep things as easy to remember and simple as possible. [Canvas.church] is simple for branding [and] It's easy for staff and regular attendees to say check us out at Canvas.church.” –Justin Stewart (Creative Director)
Newlife.church was a Most Excellent Upgrade
“We heard about .church, we wanted to move on from our current domain, and wanted to capture the Newlife.church domain before any other New Life Churches did. ” –Tom Pounder, Online Campus Pastor (Author’s note: Their previous domain was newlife4me.com.)
Life.Church Strengthened Its Brand
“We saw the branding opportunity when .church was first available and made the switch from lifechurch.tv. It allowed our branding and URL to be unique and specific to us as a church. People might think of .org when they think about organizations or nonprofits, but we are special and unique as a church.” –Rachel Feuerborn, PR Manager
Westside Family Church Moved into the Future
“We were on it as soon as [it] opened it up. We knew that it was going to be the future. [WestsideFamily.church] positioned us better branding-wise and also .com didn't represent the church well, because we're not a commercial entity. It makes it way easier to do signage/branding.” –Jason Morris, Product Manager
We are seeing how .church is helping all kinds of groups build a stronger identity and community, like:
- A new church
- A church rebranding to a new name
- A religious group or faith community
- A group offering products and services for churches
- A group providing resources for church leaders or pastors
The commonality across all these examples? A .church domain gives you instant recognition, and allows you to immediately reach people who are looking for a church and warmly invites them to experience your church at their own pace.
Here are five benefits of a .church domain name:
- .Church is secure
Your web address brings people to your church. But, if you’re not careful, it could also lead someone to an undesirable destination, to being lost in cyberspace, to a broken link, or worse, to a phishing site or even something obscene. By using confusingly similar Unicode letters and characters, hackers can spoof your domain name, then use this lookalike for fraudulent phishing schemes. When you register a .church domain, all potential malicious variations of your domain name are automatically blocked, preventing hackers from registering false, lookalike names and using them against you.
- .Church gives you instant recognition
For new visitors to your site, there’s no room for questioning who you are or what you do. A .church domain gives you instant recognition. With a domain name and web address that matches your church name, you get efficient and effective brand messaging every time your church is mentioned online or in-person. Action.church, for example, blends its mission to “put faith in action” with a domain that is not only memorable, but also on-brand. Menlo.church and CCV.church are other examples of churches who have leveraged a .church domain as part of their rebranding strategy.
- .Church is trusted
.church is trusted by some of the most well-known and respected churches, including Battlecreek.church and Free.church, and those mentioned above. Tens of thousands of churches, regardless of their size, age, and denomination are using .church to connect with people online and spread the word of the Gospel.
- .Church is SEO optimized
.Church domain names allow for valuable keywords on both the left and right side of the dot. The word church is already a strong keyword, paired with the name of your brand, the city or municipality where you’re located, or your denomination will make for a shorter, keyword-rich domain name that’s search-friendly and SEO-optimized.
Nampacatholic.church is the perfect example of this—Nampa, ID is the location, Catholic is the denomination, and .church makes it immediately evident that this is a church website. Another strong example is Westseattlechristian.church. Keywords baked into your domain send a strong signal to search engines and help churches rank higher in relevant search results, translating to more website visits and higher engagement.
- .Church helps bring people together
For a world in need of hope, a .church domain lights the way for people to find the community and connection they’re looking for. Canvas.church is among the largest, fastest, and most reproducing churches on the Outreach 100 list—bringing community together at scale. On the other hand, Mygen.church is a small, New York-based church focused on bringing together its neighborhood community. Whether people seek a church, youth organization, serving opportunity, or spiritual content, the path to finding you is increasingly simple with a .church domain.
Proclaim your message today with a .church domain
Ready to upgrade your digital identity with a .church domain? The good news is that .church domains are sold by virtually every domain name retailer—and there’s even a limited-time, low-price offer from Name.com. Open your digital front door to new ministry members and expand your community’s reach with .church.
_______________________________
DJ Chuang is an ambassador for .church domain names, a part of Identity Digital powering the most relevant domain names on the Internet. DJ also works as the Technical Registry Manager for the .BIBLE top-level domain (operated by American Bible Society). DJ is known as a thought leader who helps churches and nonprofits learn how to use the latest digital technologies.
This post is sponsored by Identity Digital
_______________________________
More in-depth articles coming soon
How to Get the Best Domain Name for Your Church
How .Church Brings Spiritual Communities To Life Online
How Your Church Can Grow In This Post-Pandemic Era
How to Use Your Domain Name to Maximize Engagement
