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The Essential Elements of a Successful Non-Profit Website
Great! You have decided to create a non-profit. You have gone through the legal stuff and got your 501c. You know your mission and cause and even have created a brand. The next thing you need to do is create a digital or online presence. One of the key parts of that is creating your website. Yet creating a successful website requires a few key pieces. Here are the essential elements of a successful non-profit website.
Now we are not going to break this down exactly the way you might think. We are not going to tell you what pages you need or how to organize your site. There are several ways to do that. More importantly, we are going to go over elements your site needs in order to tell your story and bring in donations.
Introduction
Your site needs to quickly introduce who your organization is and what they do. Now, that is generally done on the homepage. Yet there are sites that are essentially just one page. So think of it more as to where ever the visitors that don’t really know you, that is where your introduction needs to go.
Your cause
Of course, if you’re starting a non-profit, it is because you have a cause you’re wanting to champion. Explain what that cause is in greater detail. Give facts, stories, and results in order to connect to your viewers
Your Story
People do business with people, not products. Donations and championing causes really are no different. A part of your website needs to be dedicated not only to your cause but your story to the cause, connecting you, your organization, and your cause together.
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Calendar
Many non-profits hold charity events or participate in them. You want to have a part of your website dedicated to showing those and any essential information about the events.
Donations
Whether it’s time or supplies, most non-profits usually need donations in order to carry out their cause. You will want a call to action or a specific page on your website dedicated to how those that are interested can donate to you.
Contact information
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in this day and age trust can be hard to come by. Displaying contact information, whether by email, phone or address, allows the viewer the feeling that if they want to, they can get a hold of you. Adding to this, you always want a way for those interested in joining your cause to connect with you.
Social media links
Your website is your central part of your digital presence. Yet your social media profile is the way many people stay quickly informed of happenings. They are the arms and legs of your digital presence, so you want to show those on your website.
A quick message about speed
I feel I would be doing you a disservice if I did not mention website load time. It would be really hard to get your information across your website takes 5 seconds to load. So you’re generally going to want to keep your website loading under 3 seconds.
There are lots of different ways to put these pieces together. Yet in one form or fashion, your site needs to have these key elements in order for your website to do everything it should do for your nonprofit.
Chris Hughbanks
Chris is the owner of Hughbanks Design, a Houston web design and digital marketing company.
