The digital presence of your nonprofit organization revolves around your website, making it a vital cornerstone. As the gateway to your organization, your website holds immense power to create a lasting first impression that can positively impact donor retention, volunteer recruitment, and the expansion of your outreach efforts.
Website Design Best Practices That You Must Know in 2023
Developing a nonprofit website can feel overwhelming, with a plethora of decisions to make. You may find yourself grappling with various questions, such as determining which information to prioritize, organizing data effectively, increasing traffic to critical pages, and more.
However, rather than allowing these inquiries to intimidate you, it is critical to comprehend that crafting a convincing story about your nonprofit is essential for attracting and engaging potential donors and volunteers. This will aid you in effectively communicating with your target audience, in tern driving traffic to your website.
Below, we’ll walk you through the 5 web design best practices to improve the brand visibility of your nonprofit organization’s website in 2023.
1. Choose a Top-rated Content Management System (CMS)
A widespread assumption is that you need to spend a great deal of money to design a website. This is far from the truth. Since, if you are a nonprofit organization with limited resources or budget, you will need a content management system (CMS), or website builder, that is efficient and capable of expediting your overall website designing process.
With a CMS, managing digital content is simple because of the user-friendly interface. The CMS will handle the menial work so you do not have to waste time writing complex & time-consuming code for your website.
Although there are numerous generic CMS systems available, it is important to choose a nonprofit-specific CMS for the success of your website. By assisting you in effectively communicating your mission and generating donations, your nonprofit CMS platform will have crucial capabilities for organizing fundraisers, events, campaigns, etc. that can streamline your nonprofit’s operations.
2. Brand your NonProfit Website Consistently
When a visitor lands on your nonprofit website, you only have a few seconds to make a positive first impression. Thus, it is crucial that your website not only be visually appealing but also informative. To achieve this, consider personalizing your website instead of using a generic template that has been utilized on countless other sites.
Your nonprofit’s website is one of the key components of your outreach strategy, and it is essential to design it with a cohesive aesthetic that aligns with your brand message. Consistency in style, tone, and structure across all pages will enable users to anticipate your organization’s offerings accurately. Moreover, an aesthetically pleasing and unified website bolsters your nonprofit’s credibility.
Creating a captivating logo is an essential first step in establishing your website’s branding. To create an instantly recognizable logo, opt for a balance of simplicity and sophistication, using colors that stand out. Place your logo prominently on your website, allowing visitors to easily identify your organization and link to other pages, such as your donation page.
Finally, incorporating high-quality images and videos is a crucial element in capturing the interest of your website visitors. These multimedia components enable visitors to gain a better understanding of your organization’s real-world impact. By showcasing your nonprofit’s work, you can transform infrequent website visitors into consistent donors, making this branding strategy even more valuable.
3. Add Accessibility Features to your Nonprofit Website
Ensuring that your nonprofit’s website is accessible to all visitors is crucial in avoiding unintentional exclusion of potential donors and narrowing your audience. In addition, websites that comply with accessibility standards often receive higher rankings in search engine results. To create a positive user experience, consider incorporating the following accessibility features:
- Accessibility Widget: With the aid of an accessibility widget, the user can easily modify your website content to suit their needs. For example, they can quickly change the font style, highlight links, increase or decrease the font size, etc.
- Legible Font: If your website’s text is either too large or small, or if it has a complex style, visitors may become easily distracted. To ensure a positive reading experience, it is crucial to present your content in an easy-to-read and understandable format.
4. Boost the Speed of your Nonprofit Website
In the modern era, nonprofit websites are expected to be dynamic, informative, and fast, as visitors are unlikely to remain on a slow-loading website for more than a few seconds. With access to an endless array of websites, visitors will quickly move on to another site that delivers results more quickly if your website fails to provide immediate information.
As Google ranks websites based on page speed, having a slow loading time can hurt your website’s search engine rankings. Therefore, you should aim for a load time of just 1.5-3 seconds for your nonprofit website to avoid the risk of having a significant decline in your site visitors.
A few actionable tips to improve your site speed include:
- Optimizing Images: Websites’ image download times are frequently the longest. By downsizing and compressing your photos and using next-generation file types like WebP or AVIF, you can speed up your page loading time.
- Keeping Plugins and Javascript to a Minimum: Plugins, Javascript, and other code additions can provide your website with exciting new functionalities. However, it is crucial to only utilize essential components, as an excessive amount can decrease your website’s speed.
5. Share your Nonprofit Organization’s Story with your Audience
When creating a website for a nonprofit organization, it is crucial to recognize that it is more than just a platform for online donations. Instead, it is a powerful tool that can be used to establish an emotional connection with both current and prospective supporters. Through effective storytelling, your nonprofit can expand its audience, converting casual website visitors into loyal supporters and volunteers.
You can bring your nonprofit’s story to life by:
- Creating an “About” Page that provides a thorough overview of your organization, including its core mission, the work it has accomplished so far, and any other information that is valuable for visitors who want to learn more about your nonprofit organization.
- Adding impactful images of volunteers at work, programs you organized, etc. to make your site visitors see the impact your nonprofit organization has and why it’s a great cause to support.
- Creating a “Testimonials” page that features quotes from people your organization has served. This increases donors’ trust in your nonprofit and motivates them to contribute to your cause.
Ready to Boost Your Digital Presence Through Web Design Best Practices in 2023?
Applying these web design best practices to your nonprofit’s website can streamline communication with your target audience. By utilizing these practices, your website can effectively grab the attention of your intended audience, motivating them to donate to your cause.
Looking for Expert Assistance?
Hyperlink Media is a team of Web design experts who will assist you in designing a new website for your nonprofit organization. With the best web design practices, we can empower your organization to develop lasting relationships with supporters to advance your mission online.
