Knowledge > Products > Pro Website
Pro Website Overview
What It Is
Pro Website is a hosted one-page church website product. A church signs up on churchwiseai.com/pro-website, and within minutes has a professionally designed site with denomination-appropriate visual style, video backgrounds, staff/ministry directories, event calendar, sermon embeds, online-giving link, and an optional chatbot — all served at {slug}.john316.church (or a custom domain).
It solves the Cousin Bob Problem: most small and mid-size churches rely on a well-meaning volunteer (often a relative of someone on the board) to maintain their website. That volunteer is unreliable, has no design training, and eventually disappears. The church's web presence goes stale. Pro Website replaces that dependency with a managed page that stays current because it pulls structured data from the church's profile plus admin-editable content fields in the dashboard.
Heads up — recent moves:
- 2026-04-18: Pro Website was decoupled from PewSearch and moved to churchwiseai.com. PewSearch no longer sells it. All canonical URLs, admin dashboards, and marketing now live on churchwiseai.com. See decoupling decision.
- 2026-04-21: Modular pricing shipped. The $19.95/mo SKU was split into a $14.95 site-only plan and a $19.95 site+chat combo so churches who only want hosting aren't forced to buy a chatbot.
Two-Audience Framework
Pro Website serves two distinct audiences simultaneously:
| Audience | What They Want | How Pro Website Delivers |
|---|---|---|
| Church staff | Professional web presence without hiring a developer, easy to update, always looks good | Admin dashboard with visual editors, denomination-aware design, no code required |
| Church visitors | Find service times, know what to expect, see who the pastor is, submit prayer requests, get directions | Beautiful, mobile-responsive template with all critical church info above the fold |
The key insight: church staff buy Pro Website to solve their webmaster problem. Visitors experience it as a polished church homepage. Neither audience needs to know how the product is built — though the data comes from ChurchWiseAI's shared Supabase and the chatbot (on the combo SKU) is the same engine that powers the rest of the ChurchWiseAI product family.
Pricing (modular, as of 2026-04-21)
| Plan | Price | Plan key (premium_churches.plan) | Includes Chatbot? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Website — Site Only | $14.95 / month | cwa_pro_website_site_only | ❌ No |
| Pro Website + Chat combo | $19.95 / month | cwa_pro_website | ✅ Yes — Chat Starter (12 tools) bundled |
| Setup fee | $0 | — | — |
| Trial | None (preview mode serves this purpose) | — | — |
| Billing | Monthly only | — | — |
The combo ($19.95) saves $9.90/mo vs. buying Pro Website site-only ($14.95) + Chat Starter ($14.95) separately. Customers who want a hosted site but don't need a chatbot pick the $14.95 tier; churches who want both subscribe to the combo. Both subscribe churches to a custom domain ({slug}.john316.church) and the admin dashboard.
Canonical source: knowledge/data/pricing.yaml under the pro_website and pro_website_site_only products. Auto-propagated to churchwiseai-web/src/lib/pricing.ts, PRICING.md, voice-agent prompts, and product_knowledge via pnpm derive (CI workflow derive-on-push.yml).
What about bundles?
Pro Website is not bundled with ChurchWiseAI chat/voice bundles. The $54.95/$119.95/$139.95 Starter/Pro/Suite bundles are Voice + Chat only — Pro Website must be added separately as cwa_pro_website_site_only. This split was intentional: chat and voice are recurring services with ongoing variable costs; web hosting is a distinct service line with its own economics.
Legacy plan keys
Three legacy plan keys exist for historical reasons and are kept active only for a small number of demo rows:
ps_pro_website— PewSearch-sourced rows on*.pewsearch.comsubdomains (2 demo rows)pro_website(unprefixed) — earliest demo artifacts
Canonical for all new signups: cwa_pro_website (combo) or cwa_pro_website_site_only (site-only).
Never write normalizePlanTier() output (starter/pro/suite) back to the plan column — that's lossy and breaks the tier-gated UI. See Plan Column Contract.
Where Things Live (architecture)
Pro Website has no single directory — its files are split by architectural role across churchwiseai-web/. The canonical cross-reference is architecture/pro-website-file-map.md. Abridged:
| Role | Where |
|---|---|
| Public page renderer (what a seeker sees) | churchwiseai-web/src/app/s/[slug]/page.tsx (ISR). Accessed via {slug}.john316.church subdomain rewrite. |
| Template components | churchwiseai-web/src/components/templates/ — UnifiedTemplate.tsx plus denomination-specific variants (CatholicLiturgicalTemplate, NondenominationalCommunityTemplate, ProtestantModernTemplate) and a non-church ServiceBusinessTemplate used for FuneralWiseAI prospect demos. |
| Marketing landing page | churchwiseai-web/src/app/pro-website/page.tsx (+ TemplateShowcase.tsx). Help doc at churchwiseai-web/src/app/help/pro-website/page.tsx. |
| Admin editor | churchwiseai-web/src/app/admin/[token]/components/WebsiteEditor/ — full visual editor with section registry, slide-over sheets, live {slug}.john316.church?draft=<admin_token> preview iframe, draft-vs-published state machine. |
| Entitlement gates | churchwiseai-web/src/lib/tier-config.ts — isProWebsitePlan(), planIncludesProWebsite(). Expected to derive from premium_churches.has_website_subscription post-modular-pricing. |
| Checkout + webhook | churchwiseai-web/src/app/api/stripe/church-checkout/route.ts, /api/stripe/webhook/route.ts (writes canonical plan key from session.metadata.tier). |
| Public publish API | churchwiseai-web/src/app/api/premium/publish/route.ts (atomic draft → published transition). |
Full catalog with every file: knowledge/architecture/pro-website-file-map.md.
Template Architecture
Pro Website uses a UnifiedTemplate (UnifiedTemplate.tsx, ~560 lines) as the default renderer, plus three denomination-specific variants for churches that prefer a more specialized look. Denomination visual families:
| Family | Denominations | Primary Color | Typography | Vibe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liturgical | Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopal, Anglican, Lutheran | Amber (#D4AF37) | Playfair Display | Reverent, traditional, dark stone |
| Protestant | Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Reformed, Evangelical (default) | Navy Blue (#1B365D) | Standard system fonts | Clean, trustworthy, blue gradients |
| Community | Non-denominational, Bible Church, Vineyard, Calvary Chapel, Independent | Orange (#E8751A) | Modern, rounded | Warm, inviting, contemporary |
UnifiedTemplate auto-adapts by reading denomination from the church row. See Template System for denomination detection, video library, and label sets (note: that doc's body still references pewsearch/web/ paths from pre-decouple — the concepts are current; the paths should be re-read against pro-website-file-map.md until that doc is refreshed).
18-Section Layout
UnifiedTemplate renders up to 18 sections, each conditional on data availability:
- StickyNav — anchor navigation with church logo
- Demo Badge — test church indicator
- VideoHero — full-width video background with overlay
- About — church description
- Beliefs & Values — statement cards
- VideoTransition — decorative video break
- Service Times — hours grid
- What to Expect — 10-field first-visit guide
- Staff — photo/bio grid
- VideoTransition (second) — another decorative break
- Ministries — ministry cards
- Featured Sermon — YouTube/Vimeo embed
- Events — calendar display
- Giving — online giving link
- Map & Contact Info — Leaflet map with details
- Contact Form — submission form
- ChurchWiseAI Chatbot Widget — renders only on
cwa_pro_website(combo) SKU, not oncwa_pro_website_site_only - Footer — social links, branding
See Sections for detailed rendering logic per section.
Admin Dashboard
Pro Website administration happens at churchwiseai.com/admin/[token] (not pewsearch.com/admin/[token] — that admin surface was retired for Pro Website in the 2026-04-18 decouple).
The admin token is a unique, per-church secret string stored in premium_churches.admin_token. Churches receive this token via magic link during onboarding. There is no username/password login — the token IS the authentication.
The Website tab uses the WebsiteEditor component with:
- Sidebar — section list + jump navigation
- Slide-over section editors — per-section sheets (hero, beliefs, events, staff, ministries, etc.)
- Live preview iframe —
{slug}.john316.church?draft=<admin_token>showing in-progress draft - Draft/published state machine — edits save to
*_draftcolumns; publish flips them to live atomically - Mobile nudge — editor is desktop-only (
MobileNotice.tsx)
Seven RBAC roles gate access. Only admin and office_admin can edit site content. See Admin Features for the full role matrix (note: body text in that doc currently references pewsearch/web/ paths from pre-decouple).
Data Model
All Pro Website content is stored in the premium_churches table. Key columns:
| Column | Type | Content |
|---|---|---|
plan | text | Canonical Stripe tier key — cwa_pro_website or cwa_pro_website_site_only |
has_website_subscription | boolean | Website entitlement flag (set by webhook) |
vanity_slug | text | Subdomain slug (e.g., grace-community) |
website_template | text | Which template to render (UnifiedTemplate default) |
chatbot_enabled | boolean | Whether chatbot widget renders (auto-false on site-only SKU) |
chatbot_agent_id | uuid | ChurchWiseAI agent ID for chatbot config |
custom_staff | jsonb array | [{name, title, bio, photo_url, order}] |
custom_ministries | jsonb array | [{name, description, order}] |
what_to_expect | jsonb object | {dress_code, parking, children, first_visit, music_style, service_length, accessibility, communion, coffee, guest_checkin} |
events | jsonb array | [{title, date, time, description, location}] |
sermons | jsonb array | [{title, speaker, date, video_url, description}] |
beliefs | jsonb array | [{title, description}] |
custom_hours | jsonb object | Per-day service-time arrays |
custom_social_media | jsonb object | {facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, tiktok} |
hero_video_key | text | Key from video library (default: church-entrance) |
hero_slideshow_keys | text[] | Array of video keys for slideshow mode |
transition_video_key | text | Transition video key (default: transition-1) |
logo_url | text | Supabase Storage URL for uploaded logo |
featured_video_url | text | YouTube/Vimeo URL for sermon section |
giving_url | text | External giving platform URL |
contact_email | text | Form submission recipient |
*_draft columns | varies | Mirror columns holding unpublished edits (published atomically via /api/premium/publish) |
Vanity URLs / Public Domain
Each Pro Website gets a subdomain of john316.church:
https://{slug}.john316.church
(e.g., grace-community.john316.church). Middleware intercepts the subdomain and rewrites internally to /s/[slug]. See Vanity URLs for middleware routing detail — note: body references the older pewsearch.com subdomain scheme; the current canonical is john316.church.
Custom-domain support (churches bringing their own .church / .org etc.) is a planned follow-up.
Chatbot Integration (combo SKU only)
On the combo SKU (cwa_pro_website), the ChurchWiseAI chatbot widget renders as Section 17 of the page — a floating chat button that visitors click to ask questions, submit prayer requests, and get church info. The widget runs at Chat Starter tier capabilities (12 tools) and uses denomination-matched accent colors.
On the site-only SKU (cwa_pro_website_site_only), the widget does not render. Customers upgrading from site-only to combo (or swapping site-only + standalone Chat Starter → combo) automatically get the widget on next publish.
See Chatbot Integration for widget configuration and Chatbot Tier Restrictions for the anti-cannibalization strategy that keeps the combo chatbot at Starter tier.
Current State (April 2026)
- ~3 paying Pro Website customers on
cwa_pro_website(numbers shift; canonical counts come frompremium_churches WHERE plan IN ('cwa_pro_website','cwa_pro_website_site_only') AND has_stripe_subscription=true) - Modular pricing deployed 2026-04-21 — site-only SKU live, combo SKU retains $19.95 price point
- Admin editor: Full
WebsiteEditorcomponent suite (sidebar, slide-over editors, draft/publish state, live preview iframe) — production-ready - First real signup P0 hit on 2026-04-17 (plan-column contract violation) — resolved and regression-tested; contract doc canonical at
knowledge/architecture/db/plan-column-contract.md - Demo rows: Grace Community (Protestant), St. Joseph Catholic (Liturgical), The Bridge Community (Community) — plus ServiceBusinessTemplate demos generated by the Phase 5 Scrape-and-Demo Engine for FuneralWiseAI prospects
- Known gaps (pre-launch): custom-domain support, recurring events, richer social-media editor
The Upgrade Path (post-modular-pricing)
Free (no subscription)
→ "Want a church website?"
↓
Pro Website Site-Only ($14.95/mo, cwa_pro_website_site_only)
→ Full hosted site, no chatbot
→ "Want to answer visitor questions 24/7? Add a chatbot."
↓
Pro Website + Chat combo ($19.95/mo, cwa_pro_website)
→ Full site + Chat Starter (12 tools)
→ "Need more tools? Upgrade Chat tier."
↓
ChurchWiseAI Chat Pro / Suite ($34.95 / $59.95/mo)
→ More chatbot tools, FAQ mgmt, analytics, white-label
→ "Want the phone answered too?"
↓
ChurchWiseAI Bundle ($54.95 / $119.95 / $139.95/mo)
→ Voice + Chat (Pro Website added separately)
Pro Website is deliberately a separate product line from chat/voice — it is a stand-alone recurring-revenue SKU for churches whose primary need is simply "a good website".
See Also
- Template System — denomination detection, video library, label sets, visual families (body has pre-decouple paths — see file-map)
- Sections — detailed rendering logic for all 18 sections (body has pre-decouple paths)
- Admin Features — dashboard editors, role system, team management (body has pre-decouple paths)
- Vanity URLs — subdomain routing, middleware, SEO (body references old
pewsearch.comsubdomain scheme) - Chatbot Integration — widget embedding, accent colors, tier gating (body has pre-decouple paths)
- Chatbot Tier Restrictions — anti-cannibalization strategy, feature matrix
- Pro Website File Map — canonical cross-reference of every file, current as of 2026-04-21
- Pro Website Decouple Decision (2026-04-18) — why and how we moved to churchwiseai.com
- Plan Column Contract — canonical plan-key semantics, never-normalize rule