Pages & Content

Quick Summary: Manage your website's pages—homepage, about, events, sermons, and custom content—all pulling from your Relius data.

Overview

Your Relius website comes with essential pages ready to go: a welcoming homepage, an informative about page, a dynamic events calendar, a sermon archive, and more. The beauty of this system is that most pages update automatically from data you're already managing in Relius.

When you add an event to your calendar, it appears on your public events page. When you upload a sermon, it shows up in your sermon archive. When you update staff information, your about page reflects the changes. This means less maintenance, fewer mistakes, and more time for ministry.

You also have the flexibility to create custom pages—for beliefs, ministries, history, or anything else your church needs. Use the built-in rich-text editor to add text, images, videos, and formatted content without touching code.

Key Concepts

  • Dynamic Pages: Pages that pull live data from Relius (events, sermons, staff).
  • Static Pages: Custom pages with content you write and maintain yourself.
  • Navigation Menu: The links that appear in your website header.
  • Page Visibility: Choose whether a page is published (visible to everyone) or draft (hidden from public).
  • Rich-Text Editor: A word-processor-like interface for formatting content without HTML.

Getting Started

Step 1: Review Default Pages

Navigate to Website → Pages to see all available pages. Each page has an on/off toggle and an edit button. Start by reviewing what's already there:

  • Homepage: Your site's front door
  • About: Church story, beliefs, and staff
  • Events: Public calendar with upcoming events
  • Sermons: Archive of messages with audio/video
  • Give: Online giving page (covered in separate guide)
  • Contact: Location, hours, and contact form

Step 2: Customize Your Homepage

Click Edit next to Homepage. You'll find several customizable sections:

  • Hero Section: A large, eye-catching banner with headline, subheadline, background image, and call-to-action button
  • Welcome Message: A brief introduction to your church (2-3 paragraphs)
  • Featured Events: Automatically displays your next 3 upcoming events
  • Recent Sermon: Shows the latest message from your sermon archive
  • Call-to-Action Blocks: Highlight giving, small groups, or visitor info

Fill in the text fields, upload a hero image (1920x1080px recommended), and arrange sections in the order that makes sense for your church.

Step 3: Update Your About Page

The About page has several components:

  • Our Story: Write your church's history and mission (use the rich-text editor)
  • What We Believe: Add bullet points or paragraphs about core beliefs
  • Staff Directory: Automatically pulls from your People → Staff in Relius. Add staff photos, titles, and bios in the People section, and they appear here instantly.
  • Leadership Team: Highlight elders, deacons, or board members

Pro tip: Keep staff bios between 50-100 words. Visitors want to know who you are, not read a full biography.

Step 4: Configure Events & Sermons Pages

These pages are mostly automatic but have a few settings:

Events Page:

  • Choose calendar view (grid, list, or both)
  • Filter which event categories appear (e.g., hide internal events)
  • Enable/disable registration buttons

Sermons Page:

  • Display format (grid of sermon cards or list view)
  • Show audio player, video embed, or both
  • Enable sermon series grouping
  • Add sermon notes/study guide downloads

When you publish a sermon in Relius, it automatically appears here. No extra steps needed.

Features

Creating Custom Pages

Need a page for your Beliefs, Ministries, History, or FAQ? Click Add Custom Page and you'll get:

  • Page Title: What appears in navigation and as the page heading
  • URL Slug: The web address (e.g., /beliefs or /our-ministries)
  • Rich-Text Content: Write and format your content using the editor
  • Featured Image: Optional banner image at the top
  • Visibility: Published or draft

Use the toolbar to format text (bold, italic, headings), insert images, embed videos, create lists, and add links. It works like Google Docs or Microsoft Word.

Advanced Rich-Text Features

Embed YouTube Videos: Paste a YouTube URL and it converts to an embedded player.

Image Galleries: Upload multiple images to create a photo gallery with lightbox view.

Buttons & CTAs: Add styled buttons that link to registration forms or external sites.

Columns: Create two or three-column layouts for comparing information.

Accordion Sections: Collapsible content blocks for FAQs or lengthy information.

Managing Navigation

Your navigation menu (the links at the top of every page) is managed in Website → Navigation:

  • Drag and drop to reorder menu items
  • Show/hide pages from the menu (useful for landing pages you link to directly)
  • Create dropdown menus for grouped pages (e.g., "About" dropdown with Our Story, Staff, Beliefs)
  • Add external links (like your church's social media)

Keep your navigation simple. 5-7 top-level items is ideal. If you have more, consider grouping them into dropdowns.

Staff Directory

The staff directory on your About page pulls directly from People → Staff in Relius. To add someone:

  1. Go to People and find the staff member's profile
  2. Add them to the "Staff" tag or category
  3. Upload a professional photo (square crop works best)
  4. Fill in their title and bio
  5. Choose whether to display their email address publicly

They'll appear on your website within seconds. When someone leaves staff, remove the tag and they're instantly removed from the public site.

Contact Page

The contact page displays:

  • Your church's address with an embedded Google Map
  • Phone number and email (from your site settings)
  • Service times and office hours
  • Optional contact form for visitor inquiries

When someone submits the contact form, it creates a new contact in your Relius People directory and can trigger a follow-up workflow.

Best Practices

  • Keep homepages focused: Your homepage should answer "What's happening here?" within 3 seconds. Feature upcoming events and clear next steps.
  • Update staff photos regularly: Outdated headshots create a stale impression. Refresh them every 1-2 years.
  • Write for visitors, not members: Assume people visiting your website don't know church lingo. Explain what "small groups" or "midweek service" means.
  • Mobile-first thinking: Most visitors will see your site on a phone. Keep paragraphs short, use large buttons, and avoid tiny text.
  • Refresh sermon archives monthly: Delete or archive very old sermons so the page doesn't become overwhelming.
  • Use high-quality images: Photos of real people from your church (with permission) are more engaging than stock photos.

Common Questions

Q: Can I hide a page temporarily without deleting it?

A: Yes! Toggle any page to "Draft" mode and it will be hidden from your public site but remain editable in your admin panel.

Q: How do I add a photo gallery?

A: Create a custom page, then use the rich-text editor's image gallery feature. Upload multiple images and they'll display in a grid with lightbox viewing.

Q: Can I password-protect certain pages?

A: Not currently. All published pages are publicly accessible. If you need member-only content, consider using the member portal or email communications instead.

Q: What if I want a completely custom page design?

A: While you can't change the underlying page templates, the rich-text editor offers substantial flexibility with columns, images, videos, buttons, and more. For highly custom needs, consider embedding external content via iframes.

Q: How do I add social media icons to my site?

A: Go to Settings → Website → Social Media and add your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube URLs. Icons will appear in your footer automatically.

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