If your church uses Planning Center Online to manage your groups, events, and sermons, you’ve probably wished there was a simple way to get that content displaying live on your own website — without copying and pasting things across manually every week, and without hiring a developer.
PCO Embed is the answer to that problem. This guide explains exactly what it is, how it works, who it’s for, and how to get started.
What is PCO Embed?
PCO Embed is a web-based tool that connects your Planning Center Online account to your church website, displaying your live PCO data — groups, events, calendars, and sermons — as native content on your own site. It works seamlessly across desktops, tablets, phones, and all modern web browsers.
The core idea is simple: you manage your content once, in Planning Center, and PCO Embed makes sure your website always reflects it. No duplicate data entry. No outdated events pages. No sermon archive that’s three weeks behind.
What content can PCO Embed display?
PCO Embed supports four types of Planning Center content:
Events — Display your upcoming church events in a clean, modern format. PCO Embed offers three distinct event views:
- Gallery — A visual card grid of upcoming events with images, ideal for a dedicated events or “What’s On” page
- Monthly Calendar — A traditional wall-calendar grid showing the full month at a glance, with multi-day events spanning their full dates
- List — A chronological agenda grouped by month and date, showing event name, time range, location, recurring schedule, and signup availability — ideal for homepages and sidebars
Groups — A live, searchable groups finder showing all your active Planning Center groups, with filtering by group type and an interactive Google Map of group meeting locations. Visitors can find a small group near them without ever calling the office.
Sermons (Publishing) — A live sermon archive from Planning Center Publishing, with video playback, audio playback, and series browsing. Updated automatically the moment a new episode is published in PCO.
Calendars — Your full Planning Center calendar embedded directly on your website, always current.
How does it work technically?
PCO Embed uses a single line of JavaScript — a script tag — that you paste into any page on your website:
<script src="https://pcoembed.com/go/js/embed.js" data-type="events" data-id="YOUR-UNIQUE-ID"></script>That’s the entire installation. When a visitor loads the page, the script fetches your live Planning Center data and renders it directly on the page.
A few things that make PCO Embed technically distinctive:
- Shadow DOM architecture — the embed renders inside an isolated container, which means it won’t clash with your existing website styles, fonts, or CSS no matter what theme or page builder you use
- Instant load — unlike some embed tools that make visitors wait on a loading spinner, PCO Embed renders immediately
- No iframes — PCO Embed doesn’t use iframes, which means no complicated resizing issues and no mismatched scrollbars
- Secure OAuth2 connection — PCO Embed connects to your Planning Center account using industry-standard OAuth2 authentication, the same secure method used by other trusted PCO-connected tools
Which website platforms does it work with?
PCO Embed works with any website platform that allows you to add custom HTML or JavaScript — which covers the vast majority of church website builders:
- WordPress — via the Custom HTML block in the Gutenberg editor, or any page builder’s HTML element (Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, etc.)
- Wix — via the Embed Code / HTML iframe element
- Squarespace — via the Code block
- Webflow, Ghost, and custom HTML sites — paste the script tag directly into your page HTML
- Any other platform with a custom code or HTML embed option
For step-by-step instructions for each platform, see: How to Add a PCO Embed to Your Church Website (One Line of Code)
How is PCO Embed different from Planning Center’s native embed?
Planning Center does offer a basic native embed option, but it’s limited to a calendar view of events only. PCO Embed goes significantly further:
- More content types — Planning Center’s native embed covers events only. PCO Embed also covers groups and sermons, which have no native embed equivalent in PCO
- Faster load — the native Planning Center embed is noticeably slow to load, often showing a blank space or spinner before content appears. PCO Embed loads instantly
- More event views — PCO Embed offers Gallery, Monthly Calendar, and List views. The native embed offers fewer display options
- Better filtering — PCO Embed supports filtering by group type, open/closed status, and location. Filters applied in Planning Center don’t carry through to the native embed
- Consistent setup — every PCO Embed type uses the same one-line script tag, the same dashboard, and the same connection. There’s no different process to learn for each content type
Who is PCO Embed for?
PCO Embed is for any church or ministry that:
- Uses Planning Center Online to manage their groups, events, or sermons
- Has their own website (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or any other platform)
- Wants their website to stay automatically in sync with Planning Center — without manual updates
It’s particularly valuable for churches whose website is maintained by a volunteer or small team, since it eliminates the weekly work of manually updating the website to match what’s in PCO.
What does it cost?
PCO Embed costs $9.99 USD per month — a flat fee with no hidden charges, no lock-in contracts, and no tiered pricing based on the number of embeds or website visitors.
A 30-day free trial is included with no credit card required, giving you the full system to test with live embeds on your website before committing.
Billing is processed monthly. At the end of each calendar month an invoice is generated and your nominated card is charged automatically. PCO Embed accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, China UnionPay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Who built PCO Embed?
PCO Embed was built by Ray Forlin, Executive Pastor at Subi Church (Subiaco Church of Christ) in Perth, Western Australia. Before entering pastoral ministry, Ray worked professionally as a software engineer — and PCO Embed grew out of his own church’s need to keep their website in sync with Planning Center without a full-time web developer.
PCO Embed is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Planning Center Online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PCO Embed work with WordPress? Yes. Add the script tag using the Custom HTML block in the Gutenberg editor, or drop it into any page builder’s HTML element (Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, and others all work).
Does PCO Embed work with Wix? Yes. Use Wix’s Embed Code / HTML iframe element, paste the script tag in, and publish. You can resize the embed element on the page to suit your layout.
Does PCO Embed work with Squarespace? Yes. Add a Code block to your page (make sure it’s set to HTML mode), paste the script tag in, and save.
Does PCO Embed require a developer? No. The entire setup is a single line of code pasted into your website. No coding knowledge is required. If you can edit a page on your website, you can install PCO Embed.
How long does PCO Embed take to set up? Most churches are up and running in under five minutes. Connect your Planning Center account, create an embed, copy the script tag, paste it into your website page, and you’re done.
Does PCO Embed work with Planning Center Publishing (sermons)? Yes. PCO Embed’s sermon embed pulls directly from Planning Center Publishing, displaying your sermon series, episodes, video, and audio on your website — updated automatically each time you publish a new episode in PCO.
Is PCO Embed secure? Yes. All communication is encrypted using HTTPS/SSL. PCO Embed connects to your Planning Center account via OAuth2 authentication. PCO Embed stores only the minimum data required to operate: your username, organisation ID, organisation name, and an encrypted OAuth2 access token. You can revoke access at any time from within your Planning Center account.
What happens to my embeds if I cancel? You can cancel at any time. Your embeds will stop updating and displaying after your subscription ends.
Is PCO Embed affiliated with Planning Center? No. PCO Embed is an independent product built by a pastor and software engineer. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Planning Center Online or Ministry Brands.
How do I get support? Email support@pcoembed.com. PCO Embed is built and supported by the same person who uses it every week at his own church, so support is hands-on and knowledgeable.
Ready to get started?
PCO Embed includes a 30-day free trial — no credit card required. Connect your Planning Center account, create your first embed, and have it live on your website in minutes.