6 Keys for Nonprofit Website Design, Part 1
[Editor's note: This is part 1 of a two-part series. Check back next week for part 2.]
Year after year, online giving grows both in the United States and worldwide, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Further, many offline donors spend a considerable amount of time online researching nonprofit organizations before they decide to give. So having a clean, professional website is vital for every fundraising professional.
"For a lot of small businesses, the website is somebody's first impression, and then they might go into the actual retail or store or get the product," says Ben Rugg, co-founder of website solution company Clover. "A lot of times with a nonprofit, unless there's events someone is going to, you're giving to them online and your entire interaction with them is their website and print media. So it's not just the first impression — it's your entire impression.
"It has as much importance as an actual brick-and-mortar store or headquarters looking good or looking legitimate," he adds. "The website is such an important facet now, and it's constantly becoming more and more important."
Below, Rugg and fellow Clover co-founder Jim Elliston share their keys to ensure your website gives donors and visitors the best possible online experience.
1. Clear messaging
Clear messaging is the No. 1 need, according to Elliston.
"We tell people to focus on what really makes them who they are and why you should care, why you should donate, why you should be part of the movement," he says. "One of the problems with so many websites from a design perspective is that there's so much clutter and so much happening that you're trying to figure out exactly what people do. You try to say too much and end up not saying anything at all."
"Part of it is just simplifying and making sure that your key message is what immediately comes across," Rugg adds.
Donors should know exactly what your organization is and what it does upon visiting your site. That means avoiding clutter. Rugg says it's important to not try to combine everything on your homepage.
"A lot of times you'll go to a nonprofit website, and the homepage has 16 different boxes on it. It's best to keep the homepage as clean and minimal as possible and have other bigger sections as their own pages," Rugg says. "Ideally you can have essentially a marketing site (your main website) and then a completely separate blog. You can keep your blog updated every day on its own and keep things less cluttered on your homepage.
"That's a key we tell people: Really separate out your blog and your website," he adds. "Don't try to make them the same thing. It's better for your search engine ranking anyway because you start to create your own network of sites rather than just one single site."
2. Make it personal with video
If you expect the visitor to become a donor, volunteer or supporter, you have to create a personal connection, just as you do in direct mail and face-to-face meetings. One way to do that is with video.
"A video is a phenomenal way to really get your message across in a personal way. There's a difference between saying you do this amazing thing and having that in print as a headline," Rugg says. "Seeing an actual person telling you that they do this amazing thing and showing you images of it, that goes so much further than just a headline or even an article from the founder. Any personal way to connect, see what the nonprofit is doing, feeling that you have some kind of intimacy — that goes a long way."
Conversely, a website that doesn't create that personal connection can drive people away, Elliston says. Your website can be "a very cold place if it's not done right, if it's not clean, if it's not open, if it's not to the point where people can connect."
3. Know your donor experience
When a donor visits your site for the first time, what does he or she see? What is her experience? Take the time to really look at what your website visitors are going to experience when they visit for the first time, Elliston says. It puts you in your donors' shoes and gives your their perspective.
When you click on your URL, what's the experience you have?
"The very first thing you should experience is know who the organization is and what it does," Elliston says. "If that's not something you can do within five seconds of coming to your website, that's the biggest problem. The second thing is what to do next. How do you initiate the next step, the call to action — whether it's to donate or sign up or get involved in an event?"
Have a clear call to action. Implement "Donate Now" buttons, links to donation pages, sign-up forms, etc. Donors can't take the action you want them to if they don't know what it is or where to find it. Make it prominent on the homepage.
Check back next week for keys four through six.
