Content Management System (CMS) Providers

Since we just wrapped up a three part series on The Pros and Cons of Website CMS, I thought I would throw my personal recommendations for CMS providers and web development companies that I have worked with through the years.

  • Ekklesia 360: It has been a while since I worked with this system but when I partnered with Church Plant Media a few years ago, this was a great Content Management System.
  • Faith Connector: I designed the Dialogue Church website and then we had Faith Connector implement their CMS into the layout. It works extremely well, but to me, it’s more cumbersome than the rest.

This also reminds me of some advice to pass along on this topic.

If you have a designer create the website branding or layout-or if you do it yourself-make sure to communicate every aspect and detail of that design to the company who is going to set up your website to ensure it’s EXACTLY the way you want it. A couple of the designs I previously sent off should have been modified to meet web standards (I’m not a programmer or CSS guru) and when the site was launched it didn’t quite have that great lookas they should have. This can also be attributed to companies who just churn and burn the work out. It’s not their fault but when you rush out so many designs per week, it opens up the chance for missing important details like columns being too small for human readable text!

Please check out these companies if you need a website or Content Management System!

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James Dalman specializes in church branding, church consulting, and church marketing. He is the editor at Church Communications Pro and wants Holland to win Euro 2008.

June 18, 2008 · Filed Under Church Marketing, Church Websites, Web 2.0, Web Site Design

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6 Responses to “Content Management System (CMS) Providers”

  1. matt adams on June 18th, 2008 9:35 am

    Just a note that Factor 1 also has its own CMS we use and customize for churches. We do not require hosting with our servers, so its a one time fee, and you own it.

  2. John Hall on June 18th, 2008 9:58 am

    Our church uses a hosted system from Church Insight that seems to be quite flexible and has a very comprehensive back-end interface: http://www.churchinsight.com/

  3. LayGuy on June 18th, 2008 8:59 pm

    Great series but I thought you would have included a section on free open source CMS services such as Joomla for example.

    I am no geek by any stretch of the imagination but, with a bit of effort, put together my church website for about $75 using Joomla and a custom theme.

    Check it out at: http://www.citywestchurch.com.au

    It’s still under construction and I know it’s simple but it works well. We chose our theme from Rocket Themes and there are a tonne of different themes to choose from.

  4. michael buckingham : holy cow on June 19th, 2008 4:46 pm

    While I think these are okay solutions, you’re only telling a part of the story. As it was pointed out there are some nice open source solutions (read no monthly fees).

    I also think it’s a mistake to not point out the a CMS doesn’t have to come in a box. In fact I think boxed solutions often lead to cookie cutter sites. I shouldn’t be able to tell that you are using a CMS…your site should look like YOU, it should carry your personality.

    Though there are times that budgets don’t allow it (which I will then use Joomla or Drupal) we start with design and then fit the CMS to it, not the other way around.

    This not only gives you a great custom site tailored to your personality and look but it also doesn’t require you to be tied down to high monthly fees as some boxed solutions require.

  5. James Dalman on June 19th, 2008 5:46 pm

    Matt and John - Thanks for the info and resources!

    LayGuy - Thanks for the feedback and I am no geek either. :) The reason I didn’t include Joomla is because I was trying to pass along companies I have worked with personally and really have limited knowledge about the open source options.

    Michael - Thanks for your input. I am only telling what I know and not what I don’t.

    I will disagree in that boxed CMS solutions often lead to cookie cutter sites because there ARE companies like Lynchpin Designs who will implement the CMS around the design. In fact, all the guys I have worked with take my designs and plug the guts into the skin.

    I also think the designer or company has a lot to do with the cookie cutter designs. Sometimes companies that end up doing the whole deal tend to re-use some of the general layouts or they offer template designs because most churches can’t or won’t invest in a complete custom solution.

    My overall experience from 20 years of doing what I do is that there are great solutions which are cheap or free if you know what you’re doing, but it usually ends up frustrating for the novice or churches who have to train volunteers to help with the site. When you pay for a service, some companies provide technical support and training which is worth the monthly fee. Yes, this can be more than buying a hosting plan from GoDaddy but you also receive the extra benefits.

    Last thought. We all deserve to get paid for our work or our investment for developing these types of platforms which takes time, experience, and money. I know this has been a battle for some PROFESSIONALS whose focus is on serving churches because there ARE churches who feel they should get everything for free because they are a church…which is another post altogether! :)

    Sorry for the novel guys!

  6. Greg Simmons on July 1st, 2008 7:47 am

    We use the platform available from LifewayLink. Very basic approach to a CMS, but great for an environment with complete non-technical folks.

    Our church site is (if you want to see one of the many canned templates): http://www.rrbc.org

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