How to Post a Church Bulletin on Your Website

A church website cannot host a Microsoft Publisher file in a way visitors can open. Browsers do not display .pub. "Upload the bulletin" means upload a PDF (and, if you like, a small preview image). Once you treat PDF as the public format, weekly posting is a short checklist rather than a software problem.

This article is for the person who already has this week's bulletin and needs it on the site. For email distribution, use how to email a church bulletin without Publisher. For design of new issues, see creating church newsletters after Publisher.

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Convert the Publisher File Before You Touch the CMS

Whatever you use—WordPress, Squarespace, Tithe.ly, a diocesan template, or a volunteer-built page—the content management system expects PDF, images, or web text. It does not expect Publisher.

Convert this-week.pub to PDF.
Open the PDF and confirm both sides of a folded bulletin are present.
Give the file a public name: 2026-11-09-sunday-bulletin.pdf.
Upload that file. Do not upload the .pub.

If Publisher is still installed, export PDF from File → Save As or Export. If it is not, convert in a browser. Bulletin Rescue provides a free watermarked preview of page one, then PDF and PowerPoint downloads after a one-time $29 lifetime purchase. Fonts and spacing may change; check the preview and the PDF before the file goes live. Save the download to your own drive. Uploaded originals are deleted after 24 hours.

LibreOffice Draw is a free alternative for some files. Inspect the PDF; do not publish an unreviewed export.

Where the File Should Live on the Site

Pick one URL pattern and keep it. Visitors and search engines both benefit from boring consistency.

A dedicated "Bulletin" or "Worship" page with the current PDF at the top and older issues listed below works for most congregations.

A media library folder (/bulletins/2026/) is easier to maintain if you have dozens of files. Link it from the worship page.

The homepage. A single "This Sunday's bulletin (PDF)" button is enough if your site is small. Replace the file each week, and still keep dated copies in an archive so last week is not destroyed.

Avoid putting the only copy inside a blog post that will scroll off the homepage with no index. People look for "bulletin," not for last Tuesday's news item.

Embed or Link?

A download link ("Download this week's bulletin") is the reliable option. It works on phones, it prints, and it does not depend on a PDF plugin.

An on-page embed (iframe or a PDF viewer block) can show the first page without a click. Some hosts block it; some phones show a tiny unreadable spread. If you embed, still offer a download link next to it.

Images of the pages (PNG or JPG) are useful as thumbnails. They are a poor sole format: type is hard to search, and screen readers cannot read the bulletin as a document. If you want a thumbnail, export a page image from the PDF and link it to the full PDF. Converting Publisher pages to PNG or JPG describes that step.

Do not embed a Google Slides or PowerPoint file as the public bulletin unless you have checked it on a phone. PDF remains the lowest-friction public format.

Keep an Archive People Can Browse

Members look up last month's hymn list, a guest preacher's name, or a meeting notice. A website archive is more usable than a box of paper if you:

Use dates in filenames and in the link text (November 9, 2026)
Group by year
Leave old PDFs up unless pastoral or legal reasons require taking them down
Store the same PDFs in the office shared drive, not only in the CMS

The .pub originals can live in that office archive too, but they are not what the website serves. Backing up Publisher files and rescuing a bulletin archive cover the historical pile on the office PC.

If you convert a stack of old .pub files, Bulletin Rescue can take a folder of up to 200 files in one go. Post only the PDFs you actually want public.

Accessibility and Pastoral Care

A PDF of a bulletin is a start, not a complete accessibility story.

Run the PDF through a quick visual check: contrast, font size, order of pages.
If your site supports it, add a short HTML summary of service times and announcements for people who cannot read the PDF layout.
Watch what you publish: addresses of homebound members, photos of children, giving account numbers, and disciplinary notes do not belong on an unauthenticated web page even if they were in the pew sheet. Make a public version if needed.

Tagged, accessible PDFs are a larger project. If someone in the congregation needs a large-print or screen-reader-friendly copy, offering a Word or plain-text version of the announcements is often more useful than promising a perfectly tagged layout.

Search, Sharing, and "I Cannot Find It"

Put the word bulletin in the page title and in the link. People search that word. "Order of worship," "pew sheet," and "service leaflet" are fine as extra text.

When you share the page on Facebook or in email, share the bulletin page URL or the PDF URL, not a Publisher file. Social platforms will not render .pub.

After you post, open the link in a private browser window (or on a phone that is not logged into the CMS) to confirm the file is actually public. A common failure is uploading to the media library and never inserting the link, or leaving the page in draft.

Weekly Checklist

Finish the bulletin in your working tool (PowerPoint, Canva, Slides, Word, or Publisher if it still runs).
Export PDF and open it.
Upload to the bulletin page; update "this week" and add a line to the archive list.
Click the public link on a phone.
Optional: send the same PDF (or the page link) in the church email.

The website should never depend on Microsoft Publisher being installed anywhere.