FAQs

General Questions

What About Multi Campus Churches

Many churches are moving to the multi-campus model of ministry.  All of our designs can support this model of ministry. From a custom design to even one of our pre-made templates we can take care of your multi-campus church.
 

Powerful Church Website Design Features

Church Website Design Features

There are so many features that we offer in our church websites that we could not possibly list them all, but a few of our most popular website features include:
podcasting_icon Sermon Manager w/ Podcasting
events-icon Paid Event Registration
donate_icon__60949_thumb Online Giving
users-icon User Group Management

 

... and many many more!
 

Powerful Church Website Design Features

Powerful Church Website Design Features

There are so many features that we offer in our church websites that we could not possibly list them all, but a few of our most popular website features include:
podcasting_icon Sermon Manager w/ Podcasting
events-icon Paid Event Registration
donate_icon__60949_thumb Online Giving
users-icon User Group Management
Audio/Video Streaming | HTML Newsletters | Photo Galleries | Virtual Filing Cabinet | Advanced User Groups | E-commerce | Online Donations | Church Forums | Church Blog | Visitor Stats | Church Email Addresses | Visitor Polls | Verse Of The Day | Bible Search | E-vites | Scrolling Newsflash | Multiple Editors Allowed | Rotating Billboards | MANY MORE!
 

How long will it take from posting payment to having a live site?

This will depend on many variables.  For a custom site, it generally takes about 5 weeks, but for a premade site, it generally takes about 1 to 2 weeks.
 

Do we need to give you photos or do you supply them?

We can incorporate your photos into the design if you desire, but they must be in a really good quality resolution.  Our preference would be for you to just let us supply the photos.  However, for your own peace of mind, You may choose to provide input throughout the process.
 

Why do you charge a maintenance fee?

Our maintenance fee is not just for hosting.  We build our sites in a powerful content management system.  That means that when server software is upgraded, issues can occur behind the scenes where coding and such may need to be updated as well.  We also take care of any updates and backups without you having to worry about anything.  Each package comes with unlimited technical support.  Build A Church Website is a one-stop shop.
 

What is the difference between a premade design and a custom design?

We offer two types of website design.  The difference between premade design and custom design only lies in the setup price.  You can see our pricing list here.

Pricing:

The monthly maintenance is the same for both and will just vary by package choice.

Process:

When setting up a custom site, you will pay one-third of the payment upfront and then you will start to work with one of our graphic artists.  When you agree to your new custom design, you will then pay your 2nd installment. We will take your custom design and code it into a live site and connect all of the components into your site and database.  We will help you get your content in and then, when the site goes live, you will owe your last setup installment fee and your first month's maintenance fee.

When setting up a premade template, you will choose from either our designer premade templates or standard premade templates.  You can see them here on our pricing page.  You will pay all of the setup costs upfront.  We will setup the template on a demo server and then work with you to tweak the premade template with your logo, color choices, menu layouts, and content.  When the site goes live, you will owe your first month's maintenance fee.

 
 

Who owns the website if we do not want to keep using your service?

Whatever content you have put on your site belongs to you.  Any graphics or layouts that we have designed for you must be under our maintenance services for 2 years.   After 2 years have passed, you can take your design and the graphics on your site, but any components that we have working on your site cannot be moved.  We cannot allow our competitors to get any of our components, as we have paid to have them developed.  It would be too easy for someone to use us and our service, only to take the site and leave afterwards.  We must have a way to protect ourselves from this.
 

Do you require a contract?

No, we do not require any type of contract.  We believe that you will be happy with our services.  If you are not happy, we do not want to hold you captive to a contract.  You will pay month to month.  If your payment gets behind and you do not communicate with us in a timely manner, we reserve the right to take the site down.
 

Pricing

Do you offer any type of refund?

Our setup fee is non-refundable, as we will have already put our time into the site.  However, we do guarantee our sites, so our promise to you is that we will work with you, as we guide each other to a final product.  Our monthly fee can be cancelled at any time, but no refunds will be given since services are already rendered at time of payment. If you are paying annually there will be no refund given for the payment made if it is within the first year of service.
 

What is included in my monthly maintenance fee?

This fee will cover unlimited technical support and use of our proprietary components, as well as our content management system.  We give unlimited training, as well.  Of course, each package comes with a domain name and hosting on a monthly basis.
 

Can I upgrade to a different pricing package?

Yes, you can upgrade at anytime.  You will have to pay the difference in the setup fee between the package you currently have and the package you want to upgrade to, and then your monthly maintenance fee will increase accordingly the following month.
 

Can we host the website somewhere else?

No, because our sites are not just flattened brochure type sites, and there is a lot of functionality going on behind-the-scenes on the site which visitor is seeing. Our servers are top of the line servers that are optimized for our systems and components.  There is no way for us to keep quality control or copyrights on our components without having control of the site ourselves.
 

Why do you charge a setup fee?

All of our sites involve many hours of customization.  We cannot do that kind of work without being paid for it.  Anyone who gives you a Website for free is either giving you a cookie cutter site that is being spit out by a computer program or is spelling out the death of their business, as they will not be in business for long.  A custom site takes between 70 and 100 hours to build, while a premade site can take up to 20 hours or so to customize and implement.  Our prices are very reasonable.
 

Domains & Hosting

Do we get FTP access or just the CMS control panel?

We will give you access to your CMS control panel, as well as your FTP server, if you need it.
 

What type of servers do you use?

Our servers are top of the line Xeon quad-core servers with Raid 5 techology and 4+ gigs of RAM memory per server. These are mega servers in every way.  We pay extra for top of the line servers so that our customer sites always perform with their maximum potential.
 

What if we already have a domain name?

That is fine...we will need your registrar name, username, and password.  We can login and redirect your domain to our servers. We will do all of the leg work for you.
 

What if we do not have a domain name?

If you do not have a domain name, we will pay for the domain for you.  We will reserve a .com, .net, or .org domain for you, if you let us know which name you want.  You can check a few registars at anytime to find your desired domain name.  We recommend Enom, as that is our wholesale registrar. Please do not register the domain, just check to be sure that it is available.  You can then fill it out on your order form.
 

Email

Can I transfer my email addresses when I switch to your service?

Yes, when the site goes live, you can transfer any emails you have setup on your domain name.  If you have any questions, we will help you through the process.
 

Can I use my favorite email program with my new email address?

Yes, you can sync your new email address with your favorite program.
 

Can we access our email online?

When your site goes live, we will give you information as to how to access your Webmail online from any browser location.
 

How many email addresses do I get?

It will depend on your package.  Our premier and premier commerce packages come with unlimited email addresses.
 

CMS - Website Manager

What if I forget how to do something after my initial training?

No worries!  We will train you again, if needed.  We also offer video tutorials in your Website administrator that you can watch that will show you step-by-step how to do some of the most popular things in your CMS.  We are there for you. So, again... NO WORRIES!
 

Can you update my custom design later?

We offer a re-design service to all of our existing customers.  All of your information will move over without having to reformat all of your content.  The cost for a custom re-design is only $1350, which is half of the cost of our most popular Premier Package.
 

What about user access? Can users edit their own info?

There are 4 different groups a super administrator can assign to people, 3 of which can edit content on the site:

Registered: CANNOT edit or submit content to the website. This is the user group automatically assigned to users who register through the front-end of your website. This is usually for your normal church member. They CANNOT see the front-end control panel.

Editor: Can submit and edit events to the website, but the submissions will not go live to the site until they are approved by the administrator.

Publisher : Can submit and edit events to the Website instantly, without any approval.

Author: Can only edit the page you assign to them and nothing else.

This is explained in more detail in the documentation. Sometime in 2010, when the next version of the CMS is released, you will be able to create as many user groups as you desire and set different permissions for each one.
 

What about training? Is it needed or required?

Training is something that varies from user to user.  We generally give phone training through a web conferencing software, so that you can actually see our screen while we explain to you the thinking behind our system.  This training generally takes 30 to 60 minutes.  However, 80% of what you will need to do, like changing a page or uploading an event or sermon, can be learned in 5 minutes.  We offer you unlimited technical support with your monthly maintenance, so you never have to worry about being alone with your Website. We are always here for you when you need us.
 

What is a CMS?

A CMS, or website manager as we call it, technically stands for Content Management System.  Our sites are built in a database and are dynamic.  The CMS is the manager, or administrator, that helps you manage that content from any internet connection.  It is what allows you to manage your site without having to know a bunch of HTML or having to own a bunch of different sotware packages.  A site that is not built in a CMS is really limited in what it can accomplish and how quickly it can expand.