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You might want to set up a good website first if you’re going to start boosting the presence of your nonprofit organization. You can think of your website as your office – all your content marketing campaigns may start there. Google and other search engines look at your website to see if your nonprofit is credible and trustworthy, rewarding you with high rankings on the pages if you are.
Because of this, you might want an amazing website that leaves a good impression on audiences and encourages them to learn more about your nonprofit. This allows them to understand your organization and connect with your cause.
You may already have an idea of how websites should be — from the color schemes that should be used to the visual content you must have. But a good website is more than just a matter of graphic design – it’s more about the users’ experience of navigating your space and how they feel about it related to your cause.
Some marketers make the mistake of putting all information on their website, confusing and overwhelming audiences. It’s one thing that your website looks visually pleasing, but you must also prioritize its accessibility.
Audiences should be able to find everything they need and don’t feel like they’ve entered a maze. They won’t volunteer or donate to your cause if your site overwhelms them. Search engines won’t rank you on the first pages of your website because it confuses them, too. A user must get to your resources in only 3 clicks or less. Your website must have clear navigation and hierarchy and the right logical structure.
Your website must have a clear message to communicate with your audiences more efficiently, promoting a positive experience and inspiring action. Many nonprofit marketers want to relay as much information as possible on a single page of their website, resulting in a text-heavy and overwhelming page. Balancing the amount of content to post on a page can be challenging, but it’s crucial to get it right.
Having way too much information interferes with your campaign’s primary goal and key message. Expert marketers even recommend having less content for the user to focus on your message without clutter and distractions.
Your nonprofit website must have informative content, useful for when audiences want to learn more about your cause, volunteer, or donate to your campaign. They must be able to know about your organization, advocacy, and other stances. Some information you might want to include are:
You must determine your audiences and get intimate with them to know what appeals to them. You can even talk to them to figure out what they look for when visiting your site. Determining user scenarios is a good way to know the situations individuals are in when landing on your site.
Your website must also be trustworthy and credible, so audiences will trust you with their time and donations. They trust your organization that joining your cause will make a difference with the issues they care about. Establishing trust is a challenge in many nonprofits because it’s not easy to encourage users to give away time and money. Some ways to overcome this include:
Web design is necessary for easy navigation and for building trust and credibility. The design of your website is important for creating positive first impressions and encouraging visitors to keep learning more about your nonprofit.
Some marketers fall into the trap of adding way too many design elements that end up overstimulating visitors and hindering communication. Your website’s design must enhance and not overshadow your nonprofit’s messaging. Even graphic and web designers agree that content trumps visuals – your website’s appearance functions to highlight the content and evoke the right emotions when looking at it.
You must keep your website as engaging as possible, ensuring that your audiences won’t get bored. It should be enjoyable to visit and easy to navigate. You should consider small elements in your website that would delight visitors. Reeling visitors to your website encourages conversions, inspiring them to learn more about your nonprofit and support your cause.
Setting up your website can be challenging, especially if you’re still figuring out where to start and how you want it to look. You might gain inspiration from these amazing websites and find the right branding that best represents your organization.
charity: water lands in many lists of the best nonprofit websites to seek inspiration from. Their design is clean and simple but not dull because it still has other colorful elements without being cluttered and overwhelming.
It clearly states important information about the organization. It immediately draws your attention to their impact statistics and highlights their call to action. Visitors can also see the donation form easily, encouraging seamless conversions.
Aside from its clean and on-brand design, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society also features the stories of survivors. The website also contains various menus suitable for every audience. This demonstrates their deep understanding of their visitors because healthcare providers and researchers also seek information aside from cancer patients and their families.
Since the National Wildlife Foundation campaigns for wildlife preservation, it’s only fitting that they’d feature stunning visuals of animals. They used photographs to draw attention to their cause and highlight the animals needing protection.
But while they used these graphic elements, their website is still easy on the eyes. The illustration doesn’t get in the way of getting the message across. The website is also easy to navigate, with neat options for more detailed pieces of information.
The Underdog International campaigns for improving the lives of children and dogs while also keeping proactive in other pressing issues. Their website does a great job underlining their common denominators, like protecting innocent lives and promoting love, kindness, empathy, and confidence.
The design of their website is neat and inspiring, with a winning tagline to evoke the emotions of their visitors. It’s also pretty accessible due to the navigation menu directing you to any information you need. You’ll also see immediately the campaigns they need help with, from rehoming dogs in the shelter to rescuing those from meat trades.
Acumen features a unique and attention-grabbing design where they removed the other slant from the A in their website to tie their website together and feature the cause they’re campaigning for. Some may find their cause a complex topic, but their website makes it easier to understand. This is because of its easy navigation, with rich impact pages and detailed actions.
The Trevor Project campaigns for protecting and empowering the LGBT youth, from creating a safe space to discover themselves to providing mental health support and suicide prevention. Their website might have used vibrant colors to represent their cause, but its design is still neat. It’s young and hip without having its design interfere with the messaging. They also have clear CTAs and rich resources.
Lonely Whale has effectively showcased their campaign for ocean preservation by controlling plastic waste with its website. Upon visiting their website, a stunning visual of a whale welcomes you, serving as a vital element for letting audiences know on the get-go what the nonprofit is all about.
Nonprofit marketers might want to replicate Lonely Whale’s focus on their case with strong CTAs encouraging visitors to take action. Its website is pretty simple with a short navigation menu, but it still takes you to resources you may need. It appeals to users with videos without lagging the site’s response time. The website also contains stories on plastic waste and other information about their nonprofit.
Your website easily represents your nonprofit in the digital space – your audiences visit your website to learn more about your nonprofit, connect with you, and join your cause. Because of this, you might want to make it as appealing to your audiences as possible. Your website must be accessible, credible, and engaging. It must have clear messaging, valuable content, and an on-brand design.
Some nonprofit websites you can check out for inspiration are those of charity: water, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, National Wildlife Foundation, Underdog International, Acumen, The Trevor Project, and Lonely Whale — all with great content and an even greater team behind them.
