First Baptist Church (Methuen)

UX Case Study: First Baptist Church Website Design

Timeline: December 2024 - March 2025

Platform: Responsive Website

My Role: UX Designer

Introduction

First Baptist Church in Methuen, a historic and vibrant community, recognized the need for a modern, engaging digital presence. This case study details the UX process undertaken to build their website from the ground up, focusing on creating a digital foundation that aligns with their mission and serves their diverse congregation.

My Role

As the UX Designer, I led the end-to-end design process, including user research, information architecture, wireframing, and UI design. I collaborated with stakeholders to ensure the website aligned with the church’s mission and effectively served its community.

Problem

First Baptist Church did not have a website, making it challenging for members to stay informed and for potential visitors to learn about the church. The absence of an online presence resulted in:

Lack of accessibility to service times, events, and resources
Difficulty in engaging new visitors
No digital platform for sharing the church’s mission and values

Goals

To design a user-friendly, informative, and visually engaging website for First Baptist Church that effectively communicates its mission, provides essential church information, and fosters community engagement.

Limitation

Lack of funding impeded the creation of a live sermon streaming section.

Lack of time and approval from church leadership impeded the upload of past sermons.

Du to low budget, a lower tier of Squarespace subscription was used which contributed to some design and customization restrictions that limited certain functionalities.

As a new website, ranking on Google Search for relevant terms (e.g., "church in Methuen, MA") may take time.

Without ongoing SEO efforts, the site may struggle to attract new visitors organically.

Impacts

The new website helped First Baptist Church establish a digital presence, making it easier for members and new visitors to engage with the church. Expected impacts include:

Lack of funding impeded the creation of a section for live streaming of sermons.
Lack of time and approval from senior leaders of the church impeded the upload of past sermons

Research

The project was first begin with a meeting with the lead pastor to find out some general information about the church, including its history and beliefs. Then the pastor sent some relevant information to include on the website included resources, information about ministries and events.

I later employed the following research methods: SWOT Analysis, Competitive Landscape, User Interviews and personas

User Interviews

User interviews were conducted with 10 First Baptist Church congregants to gain deeper insights about the church's challenges.

The user interviews were used to understand the following:

Current Information Access and Communication: Understand how members currently find out about church services, events, and updates (e.g., word of mouth, church bulletins, social media, etc.).
2. Challenges in Staying Connected with the Church: Identify pain points members experience when trying to stay informed or involved in church activities, especially for those who may not attend regularly or are unable to come in person.
3. Expectations for Website Features: Understand what features members would find most useful on the church’s website, such as live streaming, online giving, event registration, a calendar, or specific program details (e.g., youth ministry, volunteer opportunities).
4. Preferred Methods of Receiving Church Updates: Learn how members prefer to receive information about church events, updates, or news (e.g., email newsletters, text alerts, social media, website).
5. Barriers to Online Engagement : Identify any barriers or hesitations members may have regarding using the website (e.g., accessibility issues, technology challenges, unfamiliarity with digital tools).
6. Desired Impact of the Website on Church Engagement : Understand how members believe the website can improve their connection to the church (e.g., through easier access to services, fostering community, supporting remote participation).

Primary Research Questions:

How do you currently find out about church services, events, and activities?

What challenges do you face in staying connected with the church or participating in events?

What’s the most important thing for you when interacting with a church website?

Competitive Landscape

Competitive analysis was conducted comparing churches with similar beliefs and were in Massachusetts - most of which were baptist churches.

Key Takeaways:

Strength of First Baptist Church of Methuen: While the church has a clear community focus, strong sets of beliefs and long history, its digital presence can be significantly enhanced to keep up with other Baptist churches.
Areas to Improve: First Baptist Church could benefit from live streaming services, integrating online giving, and offering digital engagement tools such as event calendar and mobile app features. Strengthening its social media presence could also attract a broader audience.
Opportunities: By implementing features like online worship, event calendar, and a more robust social media strategy, First Baptist Church can reach a broader audience and improve engagement with its current members.

This helps understand the existing communication methods and challenges.

Aimed at uncovering pain points related to engagement and participation.

How would you feel if the church had an official website? What features would you expect from it?

This question assesses the congregation's interest in the website and helps identify key features they would find valuable.

Aimed at understanding what features, layout, or content would make the website most effective and user-friendly.

What’s the most important thing for you when interacting with a church website?

Aimed at understanding what features, layout, or content would make the website most effective and user-friendly.

Research Results and Take Aways

Word of Mouth: 40% (4 respondents)

Church Bulletins: 30% (3 respondents)

Social Media (Facebook): 20% (2 respondents)

Phone/Email/Text Alerts: 10% (1 respondent)

Key Insight: The church primarily relies on word of mouth and bulletins to communicate updates, highlighting the need for a more centralized digital platform (website).

Key Pain Points

From the interviews, the most common pain points identified were:

Respondents mentioned that they often miss out on events because the information is not easily accessible or readily available.
Congregants rely on church bulletins or word of mouth for updates, which means they sometimes miss out on important announcements or event details.
Respondents, particularly those who are homebound or unable to attend in person, expressed frustration over the lack of live streaming or online worship options.
Members said they struggle to find service times and other essential information, especially newcomers or those unfamiliar with the church.
Participants expressed frustration at the lack of clear information ministries and church programs.

I sought to understanding the emotional relationship creatives have with finances was key. Many users expressed anxiety around financial management.

What challenges do you face in staying connected with the church or participating in events?

Missing Information About Events: 50% (5 respondents)

Difficulty Accessing Service Times: 30% (3 respondents)

No Online Worship Options (Live Streaming): 20% (2 respondents)

Key Insight: A majority of congregants feel disconnected because event information isn’t always readily available, and there’s no online access for worship services.

How would you feel if the church had an official website? What features would you expect from it?

Live Streaming of Services: 70% (7 respondents)

Event Calendar and Registration: 60% (6 respondents)

Online Giving: 50% (5 respondents)

Picture gallery: 40% (4 respondents)

Programs and Church Ministries: 30 % (3 respondents)

Key Insight: The most requested features for the website are live streaming and an event calendar for easy access to church activities and services.

How do you usually receive updates about the church?

Church Bulletins: 40% (4 respondents)

Word of Mouth: 30% (3 respondents)

Social Media (Facebook/Instagram): 20% (2 respondents)

Email: 10% (1 respondent)

Early Ideation

Final Design

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(Click on picture to enlarge)

Homepage: The homepage provides a clear call to action "Come Worship With Us on Sundays at 10:00 AM".

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The church's mission statement serves as its unique value proposition, emphasizing strong community ties, fellowship, faith, and prayer, which appeal to its target audience of Christians and those seeking Christian faith
Clear Call to Action: The homepage prominently displays the church's mission and service times, ensuring visitors and church members to immediately understand the church's purpose and schedule.

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Event Calendar: Too address some of the pain points regarding events, updated events section keeps the congregation informed about upcoming activities, fostering community involvement.

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Visual Design and Branding:

Consistency: The website maintains a cohesive color scheme and typography that aligns with the church's identity, reinforcing brand recognition.
Imagery: The use of high-quality images, such as the church's congregants enhances visual appeal and provides visitors with a sense of community.

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List of ministries is previewed on the homepage, to address the lack of knowledge regarding church's programs

Our Story: Church's history:
- The section provides a concise history, noting the church's founding in 1815 and its Gothic Revival architecture. This establishes credibility and showcases the church's longstanding presence in the community

Picture Gallery
- To address the users pain points, another Pictures of the congregation is also shown here and a call to action to view even more pictures,

The "What We Believe" helps establishes trust, transparency, and alignment with potential visitors. A clear and well-structured belief statement eliminates ambiguity, helping users decide if this church is the right fit for them.

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The mission of the church is re-iterated with greater detail

Having a dedicated section about the pastor builds trust, establishes leadership credibility, and creates a personal connection with both current and potential congregants.

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Picture Gallery
- Pictures of the congregation are shown throughout the website.

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An online resource page was created to improve accessibility, visibility, and engagement with both current members and potential visitors. This page serves as a centralized hub that provides essential biblical information, connects the congregation

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A page featuring all of the church ministries mitigates users pain points regarding lack of clear information about the church's ministries and programs.

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Development

This website was designed on Squarespace. As a hosting platform, Squarespace offers unlimited bandwidth with any tier plan. This is ideal for handling increased website traffic as the site gains popularity.

Testing

After conducting a user testing session with 10 new participants (people who had never interacted with the church or its website), the following insights and results were gathered. These results highlight areas of usability, design improvements, and user satisfaction levels from fresh perspectives.

Ease of navigation (How quickly can users find key information?)
Effectiveness of Calls-to-Action (CTAs) (Do users engage with donation, contact, or event sign-ups?)
Overall user satisfaction (Does the website meet their needs and expectations?)

1. Navigation & Information Accessibility

100 % found service times easily - some noticed it right away on the Hero section of the page, others under the mission section
50 % scrolled down to the footer to finds the church's contact information, which suggests that designs is intuitive (contact information are often find at the bottom of the website)
40% suggested more detailed sections for events and community outreach on the homepage.
30% suggested to have facebook logo more visible

Key Testing Goals

Main Testing Findings

2.Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

70% successfully used the "Contact Us" form.
30% missed the donation button, needing clearer CTAs across pages.
40% wanted a “New Here?” section for first-time visitors.

Overall user satisfaction (Does the website meet their needs and expectations?)

80% appreciated website aesthetics and especially appreciated the photo gallery,
40% suggested adding video content like a pastor’s welcome message.
30 % asked for section for live sermons or streaming of past sermons

Future Steps

Iterate the design based on user feedback (e.g., adding a CTA for donations and tithing, creating a clear section for visitors and newcomers, adding a welcome video from pastors, and including a link to [insert link here]).
Gather more user feedback through surveys or user testing.
Monitor user behavior: Use analytics tools like Google Analytics to track user behavior on the site. Look for any trends or areas that need adjustment (e.g., high bounce rates on certain pages).
Upgrade to a higher tier of Squarespace subscription or use another platform for better design customization.