When it comes to nonprofit web design, there are two main factors that lead to success. The first is a powerful, clean, and easy-to-navigate design, and the second is an easy-to-use and understand content management system or CMS.
Since our founding in 2009, Idea Marketing Group has designed and developed dozens of websites for nonprofit organizations around the world. Without a doubt, we can only recommend nonprofit websites be built on the WordPress platform for a number of reasons. Let’s dive a little bit further into the why.
What should a nonprofit website include?
A non-profit website is a lot like a small business website, as it is designed to meet a specific mission and persuade donors that this mission is worth investing in. Therefore, it requires persuasion through on-point branding, a secure portal where donors can make their contributions, and a section that educates visitors on the non-profit’s impact.
Here are just some essential characteristics of an exceptional nonprofit website:
- Secure SSL certificate that is up to date, so that donors feel secure sharing their payment information
- Mobile-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and that makes giving online easy
- Fast load time and a website with a user-friendly interface
- Thought-leadership blog that is SEO optimized, so that those interested in your mission can easily find you on search engines
- Powerful images that convey the end-goal of your mission (happy families or healthy communities)
- Easy access to information for those that need the organization’s services or those that want to work with the organization
- Clear call to action language and buttons that invite your audience to take the next step
- An engaging and heartfelt “About Us” section that shows the “whys” of the mission and “hows” of the organization’s work and impact
And if you’re looking for more practical tips about best website design practices, check out our article 6 Tips to Make Your New Non-Profit Website Kick-Ass.
What are examples of some of the best non-profit websites?
Foremost, some of the best non-profit websites are user-friendly and easy to navigate. They also shine the light on their do-good mission – as opposed to on themselves – by using storytelling to evoke a sense of urgency and public need for participation. Overall, they make it easy to find what one is looking for and showcase the results of their work by celebrating the constituents that they impact.
Here are our three picks of well-designed non-profit websites that exemplify great storytelling and showcase a strong capacity to call the visitor to action.
1. Upstream International
Why: Upstream International uses video format to explain its mission and capture donors’ hearts. It includes powerful imagery to immerse visitors into their mission and have a strong call to action. Additionally, it has a strong founder story “why” that helps readers connect with the mission even more.
2. Kiva
Why: Kiva has a great value proposition, and its calls to action are very strong and ubiquitous. It makes it easy for visitors to support the causes they care about and explains what they do in simple, digestable steps. Likewise, it clearly distinguishes lender and donor sections of engagement and stores additional links and pages at the bottom of the page, keeping the focus on lending and borrowing.
3. American Hearing Research Foundation (created by Idea Marketing Group)
Why: American Hearing Research Foundation website exudes its research niche in aesthetics and presentation. It has a strong call to action, and the best part is that it is simple to read and navigate, without any wordy jargon. It has a clean presentation and organizational structure that makes what one is looking for easy to find.
How to design a non-profit website using powerful, clean, and simple web design
Marketing any organization, its mission, and objectives, is an element essential to success in attracting new followers and donors. However, in nonprofit web design, more importance is placed on user resources, accessibility, and sponsor-supporter information.
A nonprofit website also needs to prominently feature the organization’s fundraising efforts and draw attention to upcoming events, eCommerce capabilities and call for donations or other support. Other not to be overlooked components of nonprofit web design include:
- Single and Recurring Donations
- CRM Integrations
- Interactive Event Calendars
- Fundraising Event Registration
- Walk/5K Registration & Ticket Sales
- Searchable Resource Library
- eCommerce
- Mass Email Integration
At Idea Marketing Group, we custom build all of our websites on the powerful WordPress platform, which seamlessly integrates and supports all the important above features needed in nonprofit websites. We do not attempt to fit your organizational structure into a pre-made template. Our staff of senior-level designers and developers approach each nonprofit design individually and with great attention to your particular needs.
WordPress CMS is easy to learn and use
Speaking of nonprofit website design best practices, because most nonprofit organizations rely on the work of volunteers and part-time employees, it’s essential for their websites to have a content management system that is easy to understand and is quickly learned.
The WordPress CMS is the most user-friendly backend system available, and many of our nonprofit clients have told us how happy they are to have such an easy system to operate. Anyone with even a minimum amount of computer knowledge can quickly add blogs, page content, photos, events, fundraisers, and much more to the site structure. If you can operate your email or social media, you can easily operate the WordPress CMS.
As your new nonprofit website is launched, our team will work with your team to train them on updating the site. Because of its ease of use, our WordPress training usually takes less than an hour.
Working with nonprofit organizations on their websites is one of our favorite parts of what we do here at Idea Marketing Group. We have developed a culture of commitment to the communities we serve, so helping nonprofits deliver their message is even more gratifying to our team.
For some examples, you can view our nonprofit web design portfolio here.
Nonprofit web design must deliver a clear and concise message to the world for the organization to expand its message and reach. Ready to take the next steps? If you’re wondering about the average cost of non-profit website design and how we can help you deliver your message, Contact Idea Today!