Non profit organizations need to take their website as seriously as companies do. When they do not, they are left behind and start loosing their share of the very important “donation dollar” necessary to support their cause. The web, if used properly, can rally supporters,  bring much needed awareness to a cause, fund projects, help find those in needs and bring a not-for-profit group to a new level of success. Web development can be complicated and can also be  very time consuming. In addition, if you manage, work at or volunteer at a non-profit organization, web design, database management and search engine optimization may be foreign concepts to you. This is why it is important to work with a web designer who has experience with designing websites for non profit organizations so that she or he can nurture and guide your team through the entire process.

Through out the development of your new website stay focus on these two simple facts:

Who are you trying to reach and what is your message?

Write it down in details clearly defining who your audience is (perhaps donors, volunteers, and receivers). Then clearly explain what your mission is and your vision for the future. Without these two elements you and your designer are developing a website blind. That means that, though you may end up with a pretty website, it just won’t produce the results you were hoping for.

1. Design:

It is all about the feeling your visitors get when they first arrive to your site. So the question is “What do you want them to feel?“. Is it “Inspiration”, “Sadness and Hope”, “Connection and Empowerment”, …? Once you have defined the feeling, then the design should render it visually without the visitors having to read any of the text. The design elements to convey a specific feeling are as follows:

• Colors
• Photographs
• Graphics
• Layouts
• Details

Think of rounded corners versus straight angles, rounded corners are softer and more gentle. There is also shadowing that can soften the harshness that is sometimes present on a website. Lighter or earthy colors can also make a website look less sterile and corporate.  The colors have to support your brand of course but sometimes adding a soft or pastel color that compliments your color scheme can make a website more approachable.

Of course, photos speak a thousand words. Your audience must relate to them. Showing the mission of your organization (pet adoption, orphanage, clean water, … ) is very important so that your visitors clearly understand what you do in a nutshell. Action images are as important: In the act of building affordable housing, children lined up receiving free vaccination, clean water running for the first time from a new well, etc. Do not forget to include photographs of volunteers and even donors. They both want to connect and can “see” themselves into the photos and think “It could be me!”.

2. Function:

The website of course has to be mobile responsive which means it has to display well on smartphones and tablets. It has be user friendly and it should easily guide the visitors to the page where they need to be. For donors, it could mean the donation page. For volunteers it could be the sign up form for an upcoming event. The menu should be defined clearly prioritizing the sections of the site  that are most important to your organization.

3. Optimization:

Yes your new website should be found online and we do not mean found by searching your organization’s name (that’s a given). It should be found for the type of keywords Internet users may use when searching to support an organization like yours, those wanting to volunteer or those in needs of your specific services. An Internet market can assist you in assessing those keywords. Each page of your website should target a slightly different keyword or keywords combination. This way you increase your chances of great indexation (aka ranking) with the major search engines.

Again Design + Function + Optimization are the three areas your should focus on always keeping in mind your mission statement and your ultimate goal for your new website.

At Business Website Center we are pleased to be able to offer discounted services to non profit organizations. Simply email us here or call us in California at (707) 794-9999 to see if your organization qualifies.