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Best Sermons Plugin for WordPress: Building It

WP Sermons WordPress Plugin Development
WP Sermons logo and plugin development in Steven’s “kitchen office”.

UPDATE: (2022) This project has been canceled.

There is no ideal sermons plugin for WordPress. The plugins that exist now are either unattractive in appearance, lacking features, buggy and unsupported or don’t work with all the WordPress themes that are available. This is what I’ve observed and this is what I’ve been told by people over the years. The sermon WordPress plugins available now are not useless, but they are not ideal. Churches using WordPress deserve a sermons plugin that meshes perfectly with their theme, that is easy to use and that does everything they need.

We are working on such a plugin and it is called WP Sermons. This is our vision for it.

Theme Updates for WordPress 5.5 and Bug Fixes

WordPress 5.5 is out. It has some neat new features like automatic updates for themes and plugins and in-block image editing. There are also changes to the block editor’s HTML markup which means it was necessary for us to update the styling for all of our themes in order to maintain compatibility with WordPress. This update also helps keep our themes’ dropdown menus working on newer versions of iOS for iPhone and iPad.

Theme Updates for WordPress 5.4

WordPress 5.4

WordPress 5.4 has been released. Significant behind the scenes changes were made to the block editor. These changes required our themes to be updated. We prepare updates in advance using WordPress release candidates to help ensure that your site is ready for each new version of WordPress. You can update WordPress safely today. Just be sure to update your theme to the latest version as well.

PHP 7.4 Compatible

We have confirmed that our themes and plugins are all compatible with PHP 7.4.

We recommend updating to PHP 7.3 or 7.4 if you are using an older version. You can do this in your hosting account or ask your host. Versions older than PHP 7.2 have reached end of life are are no longer maintained. PHP 7.2 itself will be maintained only for security through November.

Live Streaming and Online Giving in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Morningstar Online
An example of a church moving to online-only meeting

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic are reaching churches worldwide. Here in the United States, our president has asked that people not attend gatherings of more than ten people. Similar requests and restrictions are reality in other parts of the world. Every church needs to consider setting up a live stream and online giving. I want to share some resources to help you get started.

Your church can do this. Our church had its first online only service this past Sunday and the number of people who attended was encouraging.

Church Content Plugin 2.4

WordPress 5.4 is scheduled for release at the end of the month.

Church Content plugin version 2.4 has been released. This version is ready for WordPress 5.4. Additionally, it fixes a bug that manifested on certain servers, improves the French translation, and updates the Google podcast submission URL. You can update by going to Dashboard > Updates.

Free Church Websites (Entirely Free Forever)

Free church websites are possible. I’m talking about a free site with no setup fee and no monthly or yearly costs for hosting or domain name. Some might think I’m crazy for writing this because we sell a church website solution (an inexpensive one) but I have observed that most churches do not want a free website. Most want something of high quality that is supported and maintained. There are situations in which a free church site is needed, however, and I want to show you how.

It’s no secret that there are many churches struggling financially. Our solution is ideal for many churches with a low budget because it weighs in at only $24/month with hosting and domain considered (we also offer a 20% off coupon). Still, we hear from churches every now and then that have absolutely nothing to budget for a website. If this is your church then know that you can still have a website and you can have it entirely for free.

It’s Cyber Monday (Save 30% Until Wednesday)

Cyber Monday 2019

Update: This promo has ended. Thank you to all who participated.

Update: Use coupon code LASTCHANCE2019 to save 30% through Wednesday, December 4, 2019.

We offered 30% off for Black Friday and are continuing this deep discount for Cyber Monday. You can take advantage of this through Wednesday, December 4. Remember, this is our biggest discount of the year.

Sermon WordPress Plugins (10 Options Summarized)

Sermon Plugins for WordPress

Publishing and podcasting sermons is a great way for churches using WordPress to reach more people. If you’re using one of our church WordPress themes then you have our Church Content plugin which makes publishing a sermon archive and podcasting sermons a piece of cake. Churches using a generic theme can choose from several sermon WordPress plugins. Let’s take a look at those options.