Church Website Domain & Hosting FAQ

In simple terms, a domain is the web address people type in to find a church or organization online, and hosting is where the website actually lives. For example, AdventistOntario.org is the domain—it functions as a mailing address on the internet that members, guests, and the public use to find it.

The hosting is the server that stores and delivers everything on the site, such as ministry pages, event information, announcements, videos, and online resources. When someone types AdventistOntario.org into their browser, the domain directs them to the hosting server, which then displays the website. This may be AdventistConnect, or for some churches, it may be a third-party provider.

In conclusion, the domain tells people where to go, and the hosting provides what they see once they arrive.

In today’s digital age, a strong and secure online presence is essential for our churches. However, many of our churches have not registered a domain name, and those that have may not follow a standardized naming convention. We have registered domain names to address these concerns.

For more information on the Ontario Conference’s branding initiative, please read the Communications Department Branding FAQ (click on the link) or email communications@adventistontario.org or emartin@adventistontario.org.

Yes, switching is mandatory (as decided by the Ontario Conference Board of Directors). The Ontario Conference Communications Department is striving to unify and strengthen the Adventist branding across Ontario, and a key component to that is standardizing our name on digital platforms. Please contact the communications department for more information.

There are multiple benefits from using a domain name for your church that is registered and managed by the Conference. This includes:

• No cost to the local church for their domain name
• Domain renewals are managed by the Conference, avoiding missed renewals and possible site downtime
• Centralized management of domain names, avoiding lost credentials or difficulties contacting members who own the church domain under personal accounts
• Email addresses using the church domain provided at no cost (*please read below for more details)
• Easy connectivity to AdventistConnect hosting (handled by the Conference)

We have partnered with Microsoft Office365 to provide all churches using their new domain with email services. We will provide info@, clerk@, and elder@... email addresses for all new domains.

Please note:

1. Cybersecurity training is mandatory for each email address as per our cybersecurity insurance requirements. Users of our email account will automatically be enrolled in cybersecurity training. Please read the “What is “cybersecurity training”, how does it work, and why is it necessary?” FAQ question for more information.
2. Use of each email address within our system is strictly governed by our Email Use Policy, which outlines the permitted purposes, responsibilities, and limitations associated with electronic communication. By maintaining this requirement, we ensure consistent standards of privacy, security.

To reinforce transparency and compliance, a copy of the Terms of Use will be sent directly to every email address created by the conference..

3. There are limitations to the amount of email addresses that we can provide. Please read the “Our church is currently using a different email service provider. How does this affect us?” FAQ question for more information.

There are many benefits from using the provided Microsoft Office 365 email services. Office 365 email provides organizations with a secure, reliable, and scalable communication platform that supports modern business needs. It offers enterprise‑grade security features such as advanced threat protection, encryption, and spam filtering to safeguard sensitive information and reduce exposure to cyber risks. Because it is cloud‑based, it ensures high availability, automatic updates, and seamless access to email, calendars, and contacts from any device.

Integrated collaboration tools like Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive are included and enhance productivity by connecting email with broader workflows. Together, these capabilities help churches maintain efficient communication.

Cybersecurity training equips individuals with the knowledge and awareness needed to recognize and respond to modern digital threats, significantly reducing the likelihood of human‑related security incidents. By strengthening understanding of phishing, social engineering, and proper data‑handling practices, training helps build a more resilient security posture and ensures that we can act quickly and appropriately when issues arise. It also supports compliance with our cybersecurity insurance requirements, and ultimately contributes to safeguarding sensitive information.

Any email account created by the Ontario Conference will automatically be enrolled in cybersecurity training. Instructions on how to complete the training will be provided.

Your church Pastor would have previously been sent a form to confirm the domain name that the Ontario Conference would be purchasing for your church. Please prepare to start communicating & utilizing this new domain name with your members and across all relevant digital/physical materials.

We can provide you with instructions on transferring the domain over to the Ontario Conference. We will take over the renewal of the domain going forward.

The Ontario Conference will pay for the domain registration and future renewals.

There are limitations on the amount of email addresses that the Ontario Conference can provide through Office 365. Due to licensing and capacity constraints, we will not be able to accommodate requests for additional email addresses at this time.

However, churches have the following options:

• You can use your existing domain and email provider for additional email addresses.
• The Ontario Conference can point the newly registered domain to other email service providers, provided that the church meets certain criteria (such as security requirements of our cybersecurity insurance policy, compliance with the email provider’s Terms of Service, etc.). Please contact us for further information.

Please note:

While having Office365 as the email provider gives great credibility to your church’s email and domain, it is still a domain that will need to build up its sending history/behaviour with spam filters, so a cautious approach will need to be taken (no bulk email over 2000, no spam content, etc) until a positive reputation is built.

Creating a large number of email accounts is not recommended. Each email address introduces administrative overhead, security responsibilities, and potential exposure to cyber threats. Before creating or maintaining a high volume of accounts, churches should carefully consider the following:

• Do you have a formal Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)?
  • AUPs must clearly define what users can and cannot do with church‑issued email accounts.
  • Policies should be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect new threats, new technologies, and changes in church operations.
• Do you provide cybersecurity training for every user?
  • Each account holder should understand phishing, password hygiene, safe attachment handling, and how to recognize suspicious activity.
  • Training must be ongoing, not one‑time. Threats evolve constantly.
  • Churches must track who has completed training and ensure compliance.
• Are all email accounts properly secured?
  • Strong passwords and mandatory multi‑factor authentication (MFA) should be required for every account.
  • Accounts should be monitored for unusual activity.
  • Old, unused, or abandoned accounts should be disabled or deleted promptly.
• More accounts result in a larger attack surface
  • Every additional email address is another potential entry point for attackers. Even one compromised account can lead to data breaches, impersonation, financial fraud, or reputational damage.
• More accounts lead to more administrative burden
  • Password resets, access reviews, onboarding/offboarding, policy enforcement, and security monitoring all scale with the number of accounts. Churches often underestimate the workload. Dormant accounts are rarely monitored, rarely updated, and often forgotten, making them prime targets for attackers.
• Email accounts imply responsibility
  • If the church issues an account, the church is responsible for its security, compliance, and proper use. This responsibility grows exponentially with account volume.

Your new domain name will point to a free website created by AdventistConnect. You can request to convert that to an “advanced site” which gives you more control over the aesthetics and functionality over the site, or can keep the existing “basic site” template if that is sufficient for your church.

You may choose to direct the new domain to your existing site on your external hosting provider, or you can point it to the free site provided by AdventistConnect.

Please note that the Ontario Conference does not provide assistance with migrations. There are limited tools/resources to automatically migrate content from existing externally hosted sites to an Adventist Connect website, as many other page builders and content-management systems code or store data in proprietary formats, therefore migrating may be a fairly manual copy/paste process. If you would like to move your website from your current hosting provider to Adventist Connect but would need some time to copy your content to the new site, please leave a comment in the “Notes” box and we can give you some time to make the data transition.

There are many advantages to using the AdventistConnect platform. These include

• No cost to the local church (service is completely sponsored by the North-American Division)
• Built on Wordpress, the most popular/familiar website content-management system
• Free and automatic SSL certificate support & renewal to keep sites secure
• Adventist-branded themes that are instantly ready to be used
• Great plugins already licensed and ready to use. Here are some listed below:
  • Gravity Forms (Create and manage events with a flexible and powerful calendar system. Filter Bar adds user-friendly filtering for large event lists)
  • The Events Calendar (Create and manage events with a flexible and powerful calendar system. Filter Bar adds user-friendly filtering for large event lists)
  • Instant Images (Quickly search and import high-quality, royalty-free images from Unsplash directly into your Media Library)
  • Advanced Custom Fields (Add and manage custom fields across your site for more flexible content structures)
• Online knowledge base with support articles detailing common questions tailored for Adventist churches

For more information about Adventist Connect, please visit https://support.adventistconnect.org/en/help/frame-by-adventist-connect-relaunch-faq

No, custom themes or plugins cannot be added on AdventistConnect due to security constraints. The platform does provide some very good plugins and branding-compliant themes by default, and a plugin-request form will be available in the future.

While the AdventistConnect platform is a great tool for most churches, some churches that have very advanced requirements may need to consider external hosting if they require the following:

• FTP/SSH access
• Root directory access
• Template/plugin code modifications

As stated above, these advanced requirements are usually for the most advanced website configurations and AdventistConnect is designed to give the most functionally possible to the majority of churches in the North-American Division.

Please also note that if your church decides to switch from an existing hosting provider to Adventist Connect, the SEO will be reset and will be built back over time. Registering your new domain with your church name/location on Google will help with building back your church’s SEO ranking. Please read the

There are a few migration steps that can be taken to minimize disruptions and help with SEO trust:

1. Keep the existing domain for 12-24 months and set up full 301 redirect mapping:
   As Google indexes websites on a page to page level, indexing each URL to its equivalent page with the new domain will help maintain SEO trust (ie. “https://mychurchsda.org/ministries/family” 301 redirect to “https://mychurchadventist.ca/ministries/family”). This way both Google will see the relation between the old and new domains, and any existing shared links will be redirected to the new domain
2. Make sure both domains are verified in Google Search Console
   Google will need proof that both domains are for your church, ideally 2-4 weeks before the domain change occurs. This may include adding a DNS record to your current and new domains. If you need to add one to the new domain, please email support@adventistontario.org with your DNS change and we will add it.
3. Make sure there are no “redirect chains”
4. Submit a “Change of Address” in Google Search Console

Please Note:
These steps do help Google gain clarity into the change, but it does not preserve SEO authority by itself. All these steps taken together in order

There are two main aspects to this — telling Google about your domain change, and making sure the technical setup is correct. Here's how to do it properly:

1. Set Up 301 Redirects First

Before touching Google Search Console, configure 301 (permanent) redirects on your old domain pointing to the new one. This passes link equity and signals to Google that the move is permanent. Do this at the server/hosting level (nginx, Apache, or your hosting panel like Plesk).

2. Add & Verify Both Properties in Google Search Console

• Go to search.google.com/search-console
• Add your new domain as a property if you haven't already
• Verify ownership (DNS TXT record, HTML file, or Google Analytics)
• Make sure your old domain is also a verified property

3. Use the "Change of Address" Tool

• In Search Console, select your old domain from the property dropdown
• Go to Settings (gear icon, bottom left)
• Click "Change of address"
• Select your new domain from the dropdown (it must already be verified)
• Click Validate & Update

Google will then run checks to confirm your redirects are in place before accepting the change.

4. Update Everything Else

After submitting, don't forget:

• Sitemaps — Submit a new sitemap for the new domain
• Internal links — Update all links within the site to point to the new domain (avoid redirect chains)
• Google Analytics — Update the property URL or create a new GA4 property
• Google Ads / Business Profile — Update your domain there too
• Backlinks — Reach out to major sites linking to you if possible

What to Expect

Google typically processes a domain change over a few weeks to a few months. The old domain's Search Console data will remain accessible for about 180 days after the change.

Any assistance needed for email addresses or any requests for DNS changes (outside of MX record requests) should be sent to “support@adventistontario.org”. Our regular response time is 24-48 hours within the working week of Monday-Thursday.

Please note that the initial setup and onboarding period will be very busy and we may need more time to process requests during that period. We thank you in advance for your patience.

The form will be sent out on July 17th, 2026. The changes will begin on approximately July 17th, 2026 on a staggered basis, so we thank you for your patience during this process

Your church will soon receive a form that may ask some of the following questions:

1. Will you be using AdventistConnect for hosting or a 3rd-party hosting provider?

This form’s completed information and submission must be authorized by the local church board and/or pastor. Once received, we will begin processing the request and will contact you once the process has been completed. Please note that due to the initial high volume expected and large number of churches, it may take some time before your form has been processed. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this initial phase.

We would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

If you have any questions related to branding or domain name standardization, please contact communcations@adventistontario.org or emartin@adventistontario.org.

If you have any technical questions, please contact support@adventistontario.org.