This week marks a significant milestone since the founding of the Digital Communications team at Church House in London one year ago. They are thrilled to announce the launch of the new Church of England website, which has been rebuilt from scratch in just seven months from start to finish.

The five major changes visitors will see are:

  • Simple navigation, a good search engine, improved website accessibility, mobile first and a clean design!
  • A transformed Our faith section that explains Christianity in an engaging way.
  • New Faith in Action films that bring to life the missional work of the Church.
  • A streamlined Prayer and Worship section, including liturgical and prayer resources, thanks to the work of Church House Publishing.
  • A new Life Events section better explaining baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals as well as vocations.

While the old website received lots of traffic and interest, the confusing user experience and the 75,000+ documents and pages on the site were identified as key issues.

In January 2017 they ran an extensive research project with 1,800 Christians and non-Christians across the country. The clear conclusion was that they needed to produce a site that better supported people who lead and go to church regularly but pivot to engage occasional visitors and those who are open to the Christian faith across the country.

The new A Church Near You will be integrated into the new www.churchofengland.org when it launches soon, making it easier for visitors to connect with the Christian presence in every community. By the end of January 2018, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York websites will go live.

My hope and continued prayer is that this transformed resource will help Christians to grow in faith and give those exploring Christianity the opportunity to know the love of Jesus Christ in their lives.

Adrian Harris is Head of Digital Communications at the Church of England