We all know that maintaining a web presence can be difficult, especially for a non-profit organization. You want to keep your eye on the mission, not your website! Web designers like me are always sharing tips with people who want to improve their web presence, and for non-profits, there are three key tips I will share that will enhance your online message and keep people clicking where you want them to (on the donate button).
Make sure your website is responsive.
Responsive design is the practice of making sure your website looks great no matter what device people are using to view it. In days past, it might have been acceptable to assume most people will use a computer to see your website, but with the ubiquity of mobile phones and tablets, you can never be sure. Make sure your website not only scales but changes its shape based on the screen size.
Tell your story, but don't write a novel.
If someone is visiting your website for the first time, how many seconds should it take for them to figure out what you do? I would argue this time should be under 5 seconds. Good visual design and storytelling can not only communicate your message faster but also help people find what they’re looking for. Organize your pages in terms of Who We Are, What We Do, Why It Matters and people will thank you for it. Also err on the side of too little information - if people can absorb your message quickly and want to know more, make it easy for them to reach out for more about your organization.
Make it easy for people to contribute to your cause
Whether this means financially or with volunteer time, don’t make people click more than once to get where they want to go. Make the donate button visible (make it a different color to stand out) on all pages, along the header of the page as well as along the bottom. Make your contact information easy to find. This will help folks not only absorb the information you want to know, but also to quickly and easily donate time or money to the cause.
If you want to improve your web presence, these three tips will get you going in the right direction. It’s important to have your website look great on every device, tell your story well, and make it easy for people to contribute. For more insight into web design or to hire me for your next web project, please feel free to contact me.