If you’ll ever have non-standard worship times (think Holy Week, Christmas, summer schedules, etc.), that information needs to be prominently displayed and must be included in each place that service times are listed. Think of how inhospitable it would be to a guest or newcomer who saw your worship times on your website and showed up only to find locked doors and an empty church because you have an odd Sunday with a different meeting time!

Make sure the contact information you provide is current and monitored regularly. If your phone number is only answered between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Monday - Wednesday, say so in each place you’ve included your phone number. Same thing with your email address! If you have a contact form, make sure it’s functioning properly and that the inbox associated with entries on that form is monitored regularly. 

Your church’s social media presence is part of your contact information. Guests and newcomers can learn a lot about your community through your social media presence beyond the facts like location and service time, so be sure to link to those resources clearly.

Include clear images of the exterior of your church (preferably with people in them, too!) so people know they’ve made it to the right place.

Make sure to address what the parking situation is at your church! Street parking? A lot out back? Are there visitors’ spots? Is there a specific entrance people should use?

Be clear about how children will be welcomed in your church. Are the wiggles of littles welcome in your nave during the worship service? Is there a nursery? Is there Sunday school? Are there offerings for tweens and teens? Even if there aren’t children in your church at this time, you still need to be clear about what welcome awaits families with kiddos.

Is your church easily accessible for people with mobility-related disabilities? If not, you must make that clear on your website. If I am a wheelchair user and I won’t be able to use the restroom at your church, I need to know that before I arrive so that I can make an informed choice. (BTW - if your church isn’t fully accessible, check out this post about resources to help your building become fully accessible and hospitable.) 

Churches are known for having their own, unique cultures that create a feeling of being othered for guests and newcomers. Don’t make people feel like outsiders! If you don’t have recordings of services embedded on your website, you should be sure to explicitly address the issues below. Newcomers and guests will want to know:

• What to expect from a worship service. Keep in mind that not everyone is familiar with Anglican worship style and that even among Episcopal churches there are variations on themes in customs and practices.
  
  

• What kind of clothing should they wear to fit in. Your parish may truly be welcoming enough that anyone in any clothing would be warmly welcomed, but people still want to fit in and not look like an outsider. Social anxiety about fitting in, even as a guest passing through a town, is a real issue and can make the difference between someone being able to worship with their full self and someone feeling uncomfortable and disconnected through a service.