Synagogues present an interesting challenge when it comes to managing a website.
Some have full-time communications professionals. Others have an executive director or administrator who updates the website along with dozens of other responsibilities.
And many rely, at least in part, on volunteers.
The person maintaining the website today may be a board member, a technologically inclined congregant or a parent who offered to help. A few years from now, that person may no longer be involved.
That’s one of the reasons I’ve continued to build synagogue websites with WordPress.
WordPress is flexible enough to build sophisticated, custom websites — but just as importantly, it allows the day-to-day management of those websites to be shared, transferred and adapted as the people involved with the synagogue change.
For a volunteer-driven organization, that matters.
The Website Shouldn’t Belong to One Person
Every synagogue seems to have had that person at some point.
The volunteer who built the website.
The staff member who knows how everything works.
The congregant who understands the hosting account, domain name and mysterious piece of code that makes the calendar work.
As long as that person is available, everything is fine.
Then they move away, leave the board, change jobs or simply decide they’ve volunteered long enough.
Suddenly, no one knows how to update the website.
A synagogue website shouldn’t depend on one person’s computer, specialized software or technical knowledge.
With WordPress, the website is managed through a browser-based dashboard. Multiple people can have their own accounts, and responsibility for maintaining the site can be transferred without rebuilding the entire system.
The website belongs to the synagogue — not to the person who happens to be managing it today.
Different People Can Have Different Levels of Access
Not everyone who updates a synagogue website needs complete control over it.
That’s particularly important when staff members and volunteers share responsibility.
WordPress allows users to have different roles and permissions.
Someone responsible for posting news or updating pages doesn’t necessarily need permission to change plugins or website settings. A website administrator can have broader access. Other users can be limited to the things they actually need to do.
That makes it easier to involve multiple people without giving everyone the keys to everything.
It’s also much better than having an entire staff or committee sharing one administrator username and password.
Everyone should have their own account.
Routine Updates Don’t Require a Web Developer
A synagogue shouldn’t have to contact its website developer every time it needs to change a sentence.
Service times change.
A staff member’s biography needs updating.
A new program needs a page.
An old announcement needs to come down.
Those are ordinary content-management tasks, and the people responsible for synagogue communications should be able to handle them.
WordPress provides a visual editing environment that allows non-technical users to make those kinds of changes without knowing HTML, CSS or PHP.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs to become a website designer.
There’s an important distinction between managing content and changing the design or functionality of the website.
Staff members and volunteers should be comfortable doing the first.
They shouldn’t have to worry about accidentally doing the second.
A well-built WordPress site can provide that balance.
It Can Grow as the Synagogue’s Needs Change
One of the realities of synagogue websites is that you don’t necessarily know everything you’ll need five years from now.
Maybe you eventually want a more sophisticated event calendar.
Perhaps you add online donations, a resource library or a new preschool section.
Maybe your congregation begins using ShulCloud and wants the public website to work alongside it.
Or perhaps you already use ShulCloud but want greater flexibility in how your public-facing website presents the congregation.
WordPress provides a strong foundation because it isn’t built around one narrow purpose.
It can evolve.
That doesn’t mean installing a plugin every time someone thinks of a new feature. Too many unnecessary plugins can create their own problems.
It means you’re working within a mature platform that gives a developer considerable flexibility when new needs arise.
You’re Not Locked Into a Proprietary Website System
This is one of the benefits I think organizations sometimes overlook.
A website is a long-term investment.
You don’t want to discover several years from now that you’ve outgrown your current provider but can’t easily move because your entire website exists inside a proprietary system controlled by that company.
WordPress is open-source software and is supported by an enormous ecosystem of hosting companies, developers and agencies.
If your relationship with one hosting provider or web developer changes, WordPress doesn’t disappear with them.
Another qualified WordPress professional can work on the website.
For a synagogue whose staff, leadership and volunteers will inevitably change over time, that independence is valuable.
There’s a Large Ecosystem Behind It
Synagogues need many of the same website capabilities as other organizations.
Forms.
Calendars.
Photo galleries.
Search.
Donations.
Email integrations.
Accessibility tools.
Security.
Backups.
Search engine optimization.
WordPress has an enormous ecosystem of themes, plugins, integrations and developers supporting those needs.
That doesn’t mean every WordPress plugin is a good plugin — or that every feature should be solved by installing another one.
Part of building a reliable website is choosing reputable tools carefully and keeping the overall system manageable.
But when a synagogue has a legitimate need, there’s a very good chance WordPress provides a way to address it without having to invent an entirely new system from scratch.
WordPress and ShulCloud Can Do Different Jobs
For synagogues using ShulCloud, WordPress doesn’t necessarily replace it.
The two systems can do different things.
ShulCloud can continue handling the synagogue-management functions it does well: member accounts, payments, donations, forms and other database-driven tasks.
WordPress can serve as the public-facing website, with greater flexibility over design, content, navigation and storytelling.
The visitor doesn’t need to think about which platform is doing what.
They simply experience one synagogue website.
For congregations that want both robust synagogue-management tools and a highly customized public website, that can be a particularly effective combination.
Volunteer-Friendly Doesn’t Mean Maintenance-Free
There’s an important distinction here.
WordPress makes it relatively easy for non-technical users to manage website content.
That doesn’t mean the underlying website should be left entirely in the hands of whoever happens to volunteer.
WordPress itself needs to be maintained. Plugins and themes need updates. Backups need to be reliable. Security needs attention. Compatibility issues occasionally need troubleshooting.
That’s why I generally recommend separating two responsibilities:
Content management can be handled by synagogue staff and volunteers.
Technical maintenance should be handled by someone who knows what they’re doing.
That allows volunteers and staff members to concentrate on keeping the website useful and current without also being expected to become WordPress developers or security specialists.
Make Transitions Part of the Plan
No matter what platform you use, synagogue leadership changes.
Staff members leave. Committee chairs rotate. Volunteers move on.
Plan for that from the beginning.
Make sure important accounts are owned by the synagogue rather than an individual’s personal email address.
Give each website user their own login.
Remove access when someone no longer needs it.
Document the essential services associated with the website.
Make sure more than one appropriate person knows who hosts the website, who manages the domain and whom to contact when there’s a problem.
Technology should make leadership transitions easier — not turn them into archaeological expeditions.
Build for the People Who Will Manage the Website Tomorrow
When I design a synagogue website, I’m not only thinking about the people who will use it.
I’m also thinking about the people who will have to manage it.
And not just today.
The synagogue may have a different executive director five years from now. A different communications person. A different board. Different volunteers.
The website needs to survive all of those transitions.
That’s ultimately one of the biggest reasons I continue to use WordPress for synagogue websites.
It’s flexible enough to create a website specifically around the needs and identity of an individual congregation, while remaining accessible enough that routine content doesn’t have to be controlled by a developer.
A synagogue website shouldn’t depend on one indispensable volunteer.
It should be a resource the congregation can continue to manage, maintain and build upon — no matter who happens to be holding the reins next.