Your SteepleMate church website is built from sections: a Home section, a Visit section, About, Staff, your events, your Church Library and more. You choose a template, fill in the sections, decide which ones show and in what order, and, if you like, split the site into several pages with their own menu. You can also add sections of your own, such as a welcome message, a photo with a story, a grid of ministries, a call to action, a quotation or a video.

This guide walks through the whole Church Website Settings screen from start to finish. You need Administrator or SuperUser access.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Open Church Website Settings

There are three ways in:

From the Administration menu: Choose Administration, then Church Website Settings.

1. Church Website Settings: The editor for your whole website.
2. Website Custom Sections: Where you create and manage your own sections (see Step 7).

From the Media menu: Choose Media, then Church Website. This opens the same editor. The Media menu also has Manage Library (your Church Library) and Artwork Customization (your logo and colors).

1. Church Website: Opens the same editor as Church Website Settings.
2. Artwork Customization: Where you add your church logo (see Step 9).

From your own website: If you are signed in to SteepleMate as a SuperUser while you view your site, a red banner at the top of the Home section says "You are signed in as a SuperUser. Click HERE to edit this page." Click it to jump to the editor.

Step 2: Read the Website Tips

The first time you open the editor, a page called Building Your SteepleMate Church Website shows a set of tip cards. Read them once, then choose Let's Go! to continue. The cards explain where each section gets its content, for example that Staff comes from Administration, Manage Staff, and that Events, Announcements, Next Event Showcase, Church Library and Staff sections hide themselves when there is nothing to show.

1. Next Event Showcase: Shows your next upcoming public event with a countdown. It hides itself when no public event is coming up.
2. Custom Sections: Tells you where to create your own sections.
3. Let's Go!: Takes you to the editor.

To see the tips again later, choose Click Here in the sentence at the top of the editor that mentions tips.

Step 3: Learn the layout of the editor

The editor is a list of collapsible panels. Click a panel's title to open it, and use its own Save button before you move on. Use Preview to see your saved site in a new tab.

1. General Settings: Landing page, church icon, Watch Now button, section order and visibility, pages.
2. Select a Template: The look of your site.
3. Home Section: Header, subheader, welcome video and background image.
4. Guests Section: The Plan Your Visit section, with a button to your Guest Welcome Card.
5. About Section: Your church's story.
6. Why Us Section: Mission, beliefs and what makes your church special.
7. Staff Section: Which staff members show (they come from Administration, Manage Staff).
8. Quote Section: A quotation for your visitors.
9. Contact Info: Your contact details and social media links.
10. Misc: Toolbar and footer images.
11. Where your content comes from: A reminder of which SteepleMate screen feeds Church Library, Staff, Announcements, Events and the Next Event Showcase.

Step 4: Set the General Settings

Open General Settings: Click General Settings.

1. Show My Site As Default Landing Page: When checked, people who go to your SteepleMate address see your website instead of the sign-in page.
2. Show Custom Church Icon: When checked, your church's logo (the Login Avatar Image from Artwork Customization) shows next to your church name on the site.
3. Show Watch Now Button: Adds a Watch Now button that takes people to the streaming link you type below it. For more on this, see the article Add a Live Stream Link to Your Church Website.

Step 5: Choose which sections show, and in what order

Further down General Settings is Section Order and Visibility. Every section of your site is in one list, in the order it appears on the site.

1. Section row: Check a section to show it, uncheck it to hide it. Home is always first and always shown. Footer is always last. A section your template does not include is greyed out but keeps its place in case you change templates later.
2. Page list: When your site uses multiple pages, choose the page each section belongs to. Home and Footer appear on every page.
3. Up and down arrows: Move the section earlier or later.
4. Church Library categories: The Church Library row lists each of your media types (such as Videos, Bulletins and your own types). Uncheck a category to keep it off your website, and use its arrows to put the categories in the order you want.
5. Add a custom section: Opens the form for a section of your own (see Step 7).

The Next Event Showcase is in this list too. By default it sits right below Home on every template, and you can move it anywhere. It only appears when there is at least one upcoming public event.

Your own sections are in the same list, marked with their type and a status:

1. Type: Text, Image and Text, Cards, Call to Action, Quote or Video.
2. Status: Live means it is showing. Off means it is switched off. Scheduled means its start date has not come. Expired means its end date has passed.
3. Edit: Opens that section so you can change it.
4. Reset to Default Order: Puts the list back in the standard order.
5. Save: Applies your changes.
6. Preview: Opens your saved site in a new tab. Save first, because the preview shows saved settings.

Choose Save when you are done.

Want more than one page? Under Pages, choose Multiple pages to give your site a menu with separate pages such as About Us and Visit Us. Naming, ordering and assigning pages is covered in the article Organize pages on your church website.

Step 6: Pick a template and fill in the sections

Select a Template: Open Select a Template, click a template picture (your current one is outlined in green) and choose Save. Templates are designed to be interchangeable, so the text and images you enter in the other panels carry across when you switch.

1. Current template: Highlighted in green. Click another picture to change it.
2. Save: Saves the template choice.

Home Section: Add a header, a subheader, a welcome video if your template uses one, and a background image.

Fill in each of the other panels the same way, saving each one:

• * Guests Section: Your welcome message for visitors. This section has a Get Started button that opens your Guest Welcome Card.
• * About Section: Your church's story, with an image. The text here is also used as your website's description when your link is shared or found in a search.
• * Why Us Section: Your mission, community, belief and faith statements, with an image.
• * Staff Section: Staff members appear here when they are marked "Is Public" under Administration, Manage Staff.
• * Quote Section: The quotation text.
• * Contact Info: Your contact details and any social media links. Choose + Add Link for each one.

• * Misc: A toolbar image and a footer image. Some templates do not use them, but you can set them in case you change templates later.

Image sizes are shown beside each upload. Use the Preview button after every change, and check your site on a phone as well as a computer. The article Why Church Website Images Can Get Cut Off explains why you should keep words out of background images.

Step 7: Add your own sections

Custom sections let you add content that the built-in panels do not cover: a pastor's welcome, an Easter invitation, a grid of ministries, a seasonal call to action. They work on every template.

Open the list: Choose Administration, then Website Custom Sections, or choose Add a custom section in the Section Order and Visibility list.

1. Add a Section: Starts a new section.
2. Type: The section's layout.
3. Status: Live, Off, Scheduled or Expired, the same as in the section list.
4. Row buttons: Edit changes it, Duplicate makes a copy, Remove from site keeps it here but takes it off your website (the button becomes Show on site to put it back), and Delete removes it for good.

Choose a name and a type: Give the section a name. Only you and other administrators see the name; visitors never do. Then pick a type. The type cannot be changed after you save, but you can duplicate a section to start another.

1. Section types: Text is a heading, subheading and text with an optional button. Image and Text puts a photo beside the text, on the left or right. Cards is a grid of cards, each with an icon or photo, a title, short text and an optional link. Call to Action is a bold band with a heading, one line and a button. Quote is a quotation with its attribution. Video is a YouTube or Vimeo link with a caption.

Fill in the content: The fields depend on the type. A Cards section, for example, starts with one card, and Add a Card adds more (up to 24).

1. Name: Required.
2. Add a Card: Adds another card to the grid. Use the arrows on a card to reorder it.

Set when it shows: At the bottom of the form, Show this section on my website switches it on or off. Visible from and Visible until are optional dates. Leave them blank to show the section whenever it is on your site, or fill them in for a seasonal section or an invitation you want to appear ahead of time. Both dates are included and follow your church's time zone.

1. Show this section on my website: Uncheck it to keep the section without showing it.
2. Visible from: The first day it shows.
3. Visible until: The last day it shows.
4. Save: Saves the section.
5. Cancel: Leaves without saving.

Once a section is saved, Preview appears beside Save. A new custom section is added just above the Footer, so go to Section Order and Visibility to move it where you want it.

Step 8: Add media to your site

Your Church Library feeds the website. Each media type becomes its own titled section, and only items marked "Is Public" show to visitors. Manage them under Media, then Manage Library. See Set Up a Sermon Archive in the Church Library for an example. Announcements show only while their schedule is active (see How to Add and Manage Scheduled Announcements in SteepleMate), and events come from public calendar entries.

Step 9: Add your church logo

A logo makes the site look like yours. Logos come from Artwork Customization, which is the same logo your church uses on the sign-in page and in the member portal and mobile app.

Open the Website Images: Choose Media, then Artwork Customization, and open Website Images. (If your church does not have Artwork Customization yet, the Church Website Settings page shows a "Put your church's logo on your website" box with an Add My Logo button. If you are not the account owner, the box asks you to have the account owner add it.)

1. Current Logo Image: The logo now in use. It should be about 72 by 72 pixels, under 100 KB, and a PNG with a transparent background.
2. Upload New Logo Image: Drop a file here or choose Browse. Changes apply right away. Refresh your browser to see them.

Turn on the icon: Back in Church Website Settings, open General Settings and check Show Custom Church Icon so your logo shows beside your church name. Use Preview to check it. For colors and the other artwork, see the Artwork Customization Guide.

Tips

• * Save each panel. Each panel has its own Save button, and Section Order and Visibility is saved by the Save button at the bottom of General Settings.
• * Preview after every change. Look at your site on a computer and a phone.
• * Keep it simple. Put service times and your address where visitors can find them fast, use short paragraphs, and avoid content that could discourage first-time visitors.
• * An empty section is not a bug. Events, Announcements, Next Event Showcase, Church Library and Staff only show when they have something to show. Check the source screen first.
• * Only public items show to visitors. Events, Staff and Church Library items must be marked public.
• * You can change your mind. Section order, pages, templates and custom sections can all be changed later without rebuilding the site.