Software profile
A Church Near You
The Church of England’s free church-finding and website platform, with editable church and benefice pages, events, news, contact forms and national-resource links.
30-second answer
What to know before you open the full record
- What it is
- The Church of England’s free church-finding and website platform, with editable church and benefice pages, events, news, contact forms and national-resource links.
- Contexts worth testing
- Church of England churches needing a public listing or a low-maintenance main website, Benefices publishing shared and individual church content, Parishes promoting services, events, life-event contact routes and local information
- Relevant UK checks
- UK-specific evidence · UK registered
- Shortlist when
- Church of England parishes that need a free public website or an improved church listing
- Check first
- Create a test content plan for a real church page, then assess editor permissions, event and contact-form workflow, public accessibility, domain forwarding and the ability to retrieve content if the parish later changes platform
- Evidence date
- Sources checked 25 July 2026
This is an evidence-led starting point, not a ranking or hands-on verdict. Supplier sources establish what they publish; your church should test material workflows and resolve the questions below.
Five-minute assessment
Assess the likely fit and trade-offs
Directory assessment
A Church Near You is a Church of England website and discovery service, not a general church database. It is a no-cost option for a parish that needs an editable public presence without commissioning a separate site. It will not suit every UK church or every need for branding, design, content downloads or connections to other systems.
Decision framing
Shortlist when, then check first
- Shortlist when
- Creating and maintaining a clear public church presence without a separate hosting or development budget
- Test in a real workflow
- A national Church of England discovery service that can also become an editable church or benefice website
- Settle before buying
- Create a test content plan for a real church page, then assess editor permissions, event and contact-form workflow, public accessibility, domain forwarding and the ability to retrieve content if the parish later changes platform
Best suited to
- Church of England parishes that need a free public website or an improved church listing
- Benefices maintaining shared and individual church information
- Small churches that need events, service information and contact routes without managing web hosting
Evidence-backed strengths
- Clearly identified UK Church of England operator
- No stated hosting, setup or development cost within the intended scope
- Public church discovery combined with editable website content
- Documented benefice, events and Church Organiser workflows
- Published editor support and training
Limitations and questions
- Intended for Church of England churches rather than all UK denominations
- Not a people database, giving system, safeguarding record, accounting package or full church-management suite
- Published privacy information should be read alongside the parish’s own decisions about page content, forms and sensitive information
- Confirm content export, domain, branding, accessibility and integration requirements before retiring an existing website
What the supplier publishes
- Church-finding listings
- Customisable church and benefice webpages
- Services and events calendar
- News and custom pages
- Contact forms
- Video embeds
- Editor access and training
- Resource Hub
- Optional online services register
- Optional Church Organiser links for room bookings and life events
What does the supplier currently publish?
Pricing and trial
The Church of England says that A Church Near You is completely free, with no hosting, setup or development charge for its Church of England church and benefice use case. A parish remains responsible for any separately purchased domain name or external services it links to.
Full due diligence
Evidence, operations and source record
Use this full record to test practical details, retain source links and take specific gaps to the supplier.
Published operations and support details
- Data protection information
- The published site privacy notice identifies the Archbishops’ Council as operator and gives a UK ICO registration number. It describes account, contact, technical and usage data, including potential special-category data received through direct interaction. This is service-level information, not a substitute for a PCC deciding what personal data it should publish or collect through a particular page or form.
- Integrations
- The Church Organiser room-booking page, The Church Organiser life-event contact forms, Optional redirects from a separately owned domain
- Import and export
- Confirm available export, backup and migration options for page content, images, contacts, events and form submissions before making it the sole public-web record
- Support
- Church of England training guides, videos, webinars and a support team are advertised, Editor access is requested through the church or benefice page and approved through the service workflow
Sources reviewed
Sources support only the fields named beneath each link. Supplier material is not independent testing; external review material is included as a limited signal rather than a verdict.
- Church of England: AChurchNearYou.com overview
Reviewed 25 July 2026 · Supports: Free scope, Website features, Benefice workflow, Training and support, Church Organiser integration - A Church Near You terms
Reviewed 25 July 2026 · Supports: Operator, Charity identity, ICO registration, Service terms - A Church Near You privacy and cookies
Reviewed 25 July 2026 · Supports: Privacy information, Data categories, Data-subject rights
