Insightful and delightful: fresh website designs inviting you to explore their communities

October 21, 2024 by

Sarah Murphy

Your website needs to be as informative as it is entertaining, taking your audience on an adventure to discover more about what you offer by being as fun as it is functional.

Your site does more than share facts; it shares the life and joy of your community and the passion behind what you offer. Your website should be as dynamic as your organization!

Welcome visitors with crisp images and short videos, guide them to joining you with updated news and events, and keep their attention as they click through and scroll down the pages of your site. Draw them in so they are excited about delving into all your organization offers the community. Give them an experience!

These recently released custom designs are prime examples of websites that have action and adventure wrapped up in a beautiful, accessible package.

Parishes and Parishes with Schools

Mary, Queen of Peace, Catholic Church and School

Mandeville, Louisiana - maryqueenofpeace.org and school.maryqueenofpeace.org

What we love: animations and images to draw the eye to upcoming events

Inspired by a combination of cutting-edge sites and the needs of their faith community, this single theme for separate church and school sites is unlike anything we've produced before. Leadership at the church wanted a revolutionary look and feel for their online presence. The school had their own needs but a similar vision, so a single theme spun up with different colors and content served the whole community well. The section types have been utilized differently: the church sharing their events and testimonials one way while the school incorporating them in another. It really keeps you on the page, looking for what’s to be revealed next!

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San Rafael Parish

San Diego, California - sanrafaelparish.org

What we love: clean and crisp, reflecting the simple strength of their patron

Celebrate San Rafael’s 50th anniversary with them by scrolling through the events they offer and enjoying their use of photography throughout the site. Note how welcoming the curves throughout the design are: rounded corners on photos, pill-shaped call-to-action buttons, and the reiteration of branding with the circular logo. Use your mouse to hover over each button, so you get the fun experience of seeing how an animation can enhance a design. And once you reach the footer, you’ll recognize how even that design element helps you feel the church’s openness. 

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Catholic Schools

St. John the Evangelist Catholic School

Silver Spring, Maryland - sjte.org

What we love: fun, funky, and functional with fantastic use of colors

After undergoing renovations of their facilities, the principal came to us ready for a totally new look and feel, starting a branding package to bring their look into the 21st century. The single logo design comes in many different formats for a variety of uses, but each has the fiercely protective eagle symbolizing both the patron saint of the school and the nature of the community, guiding their students forward. Particularly fun are the blasts of color when you activate the animations of each hover feature: click open the main menu, mouse over the events, and select one of the Fast Access icon buttons for a real experience!

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St. Ambrose Dual-Language School

Annandale, Virginia - stambroseschool.org

What we love: two languages are presented in tandem

This one-of-a-kind school needed a fresh face for the new direction of their academic programs. The first and only dual-language school in their diocese, they've started a wave with the creative look that our custom design team beautifully crafted into the whole theme of the website. Really standing out is how the school’s lead was meticulous in the content creation, finding a fair balance to both languages. Check out the homepage animations, though!

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Here are a few more Catholic school websites you'll find delightful…

• St. Frances Cabrini School (Alexandria, LA) - Discover a fun site that makes a splash on the screen. Click through call-to-action buttons that just yell "reach out"!
• Corpus Christi Catholic School (Lansdale, PA) - Experience refreshed traditionalism, where the mission statement isn't taken over by announcements and the buttons provide direction for new visitors.
• St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic School (New Orleans, LA) - Travel through their site with helpful buttons to guide the way, clear navigation to drive you deeper, and clarity of what's next with news and events on the homepage.

Basilicas, Shrines, and More!

The Basilica of Saint Andrew

Roanoke, Virginia - basilicaofstandrew.org

What we love: engaging photography throughout and "reverse" animations

Prior to becoming a basilica, St. Andrew’s trusted eCatholic with custom-designing a site for them in the past. When they came back and requested some minor updates to their site to help announce that they were being elevated to a minor basilica, it was decided the best action would be to create a magnificent theme that will be the example for all basilicas. Travel through this one-of-a-kind design to discover all the delights tucked behind buttons, dates, and the navigation.

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Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - rothershrine.org

What we love: content that approaches as you scroll

The newly built shrine now has a gorgeous site to share Blessed Rother’s cause for canonization as well as the beauty of the “beacon of faith and visible sign of the Church’s presence in Oklahoma”. There are lots of design details to take in, so take your time to discover, in particular, the shapes that echo the logo and button hover features. This site also displays the first time we've had an animation rise up on the page as visitors scroll through the content.

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Verbum Dei USA

Locations across the United States - verbumdeiusa.org

What we love:  unique rotating Upcoming Events section

Starting with the riot of colors and use of custom background stylings, the new Verbum Dei website is like a garden in full bloom. This growing contemplative-active community dedicated to prayer and ministry of the Word, particularly through the arts, needed to share their way of life, opportunities for consecration, upcoming events around the USA, and even artwork like prints of paintings or recordings of their music. The changes to their web presence definitely show that their communities are flourishing!

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We love celebrating our clients and the inspiring and creative designs they make. Check out even more custom websites we previously featured on our blog!

Imagine all the ways a custom website can invite more faithful to discover your organization's mission and story. Or, stop imagining, and get in touch with the eCatholic team to start creating a website like none other.