Nonprofit websites are important, undoubtedly, and growing a nonprofit's online presence is a crucial component of developing the organization as a whole. A well-designed website for a nonprofit can help you connect with donors, willing volunteers, as well as people who are interested in your cause. But to achieve that, in this case a well optimized website for a nonprofit, there are some things that you should take into considerations. The following steps will assist in constructing an efficient and effective site for the nonprofit organization.
- Identify the Kind of the Website that You Would Like to Build
Start brainstorming for the questions you’d want your nonprofit website to answer before getting started . Is it aimed at raising awareness, concentrating on the pleas for donation, emphasizing educational materials, or anything else? The American Red Cross website contextualizes the reach of the organization as such, the building encourages donations and there are plenty of opportunities for volunteering. If you are aware of the objectives from the website, you will know which content goes best for which kind of website, so you would know whether to include or exclude certain features or specific content.
- A Round The Clock Easily Accessible Website.
Web designing today has become simple especially when it comes to adding a lot of new features. This translates to visitors being easily able to find all the crucial information they require without spending too much effort. A simple and sophisticated design goes a long way in ensuring a better user experience. It is better to keep things minimalistic and ensure a seamless flow and an intuitive layout. It is also better to utilize clear headers, short paragraphs, and utilize large buttons that lead to certain pages that are important such as: “Donate”, “About us”, or “Join us.”
For instant, it is possible to cite the charity: water website that features large buttons that are prominent enough for site visitors to see exactly where a donation is needed or to learn more about the organization.
- Websites 101 in this decade would mean a more mobile friendly approach.
With the growing demand for the technology, a large audience has been reported to use their mobile devices to search through different websites. You could risk losing perspective supporters of your cause if you maintain a non mobile optimized website. Start integrating screen responsive features in your website, having an automated fit in feature is ideal.
World Wildlife Fund is a good example, their website is also compatible with desktop and mobile. When users navigate through mobile devices, the website comfortably adjusts and scales the content for easy reading.
- Make Sure a Clear Call to Action (CTA) Is Available for Emphasis
There are two efficient websites that should have CTAs. It can be said that a CTA call should also provide directions about the next step the user who has visited your website needs to take. For example, contributing money, enrolling for a newsletter, or taking part in some event; the user’s participation should be concerned with the CTA’s content, which should be formulated with a high degree of precision, making it easy to be accessible.
For instance, on its website, The Nature Conservancy features a lot of donation buttons on the front page so that any potential donor can be able to donate money easily. CTAs of affiliates ads can include buttons with the titles “Donate Now” or “Join Us”.
- Provide Desirable Navigation
When building non-profit websites, a good navigation system has to be employed. They should be displayed prominently, including documents such as your organization’s mission statement, your donation as well as your contact page. No menu should be complex, every section should be labeled in a straightforward fashion, contributing to increased ease of navigation.
For example, the website of The Humane Society of the United States has a simple structure, having quick links under the words “Get Involved,” “Adopt” and “Donate” which makes it easier for the user to find relevant information.
- Incorporate Great Imagery and Combine it with Stories
Nonprofit organizations usually have compelling stories and therefore, it is crucial to exhibit those stories through images, videos, or testimonials. Images, high-quality footage as well, can make you touch the hearts of the audience. For instance, on the site of ‘Feeding America’, there are pictures of individuals who utilize the programs that the organization provides, posing a dramatic focus on these people’s reality.
To start with, storytelling is one of the most powerful tools that help to facilitate the visitors. Post stories about the changes your nonprofit brings in backward lives. This enhances an emotional engagement in the audience and in most cases makes them to carry out an action.
- You Need to Do SEO for Your Non-profit Organization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) I believe is critical in ensuring that your nonprofit website appears when targeted searches are done on the internet. Failure to have your site in the search engines means that there are many people who will find it hard to enhance engaging with your organization. Include phrases like, ‘nonprofit,’ ‘donate,’ ‘volunteer’ and the name of your cause in the content of your site.
For example, if your non-profit organization runs an animal rescue, then ranking in search results can be enhanced by the use of the above keywords such as “adopt a pet,” “donate to animal rescue” and pay “volunteer at animal shelters”
- Make Security and Hassle-Free Giving a Priority
Giving on your site should be a smooth and quick affair. The more convenient it is for someone to make a donation, it is inversely proportional to the number of people who actually go ahead and do it. Incorporate various ways through which payments can be done for example via credit cards, PayPal or even Wire Transfers. Additionally, remember to strengthen your payment processing systems in order to maintain the utmost level of privacy for the donors.
A great mention is ASPCA's donation page which eases the process of making one time and periodic donations on its website. Payments Made are secure and donors can be assured of their safety while giving the donations online.
- Do Not Restrict Any Portion Of Your Application To A Particular Audience
Not everyone has the same level of ease of using your website. Asking someone who is a deaf person to use a website is completely absurd as it would make it difficult for them to access the information easily so the website should be designed to incorporate brief explanations which would also be easy to use by people who rely on speech reading or use devices that offer assistance. For example: to insert text descriptions of images (alt texts) and to enable keyboard navigation of the site.
An excellent template for visual impairment assisting websites is the one created by the National Federation of the Blind where everything is built around assisting people with visual impairments to easily browse through the website and read the text on it.
- Keep Your Nonprofit Organization’s Website Current
A relic of a website can make your nonprofit organization appear defunct. News, events, achievements, etc., should be placed on your website in order to keep it up to date and relevant. And, your donation options can be altered to append new fundraising campaigns.
As an instance, the homepage of the Doctors Without Borders website is updated with information (new reports) and appeals relevant at that time along with advertisements for donations and even new emergency missions.
Conclusion
Best practices when it comes to nonprofit management websites will enable you to interact well and elicit support for your course from the target audience. You may be able to meet your website's objectives by making it easy to navigate and compositionally rich including storytelling and the principles of SEO. Last but not least, treat your website as your interface: minimalistic, inclusive, and very relevant – you are forging an essential resource for the victory of your nonprofit organization.