Recent Developments:
Four Strategies for Building a
Powerful Nonprofit Website Today
Recent Developments:
Four Strategies for Building a Powerful Nonprofit Website Today
FIVE CRITERIA FOR AN
EFFECTIVE WEBSITE
•
Content
Your website should provide a
wealth of meaningful information
and resources that are relevant to
your visitors. Avoid fluff copy, or
conversational text that occupies
space without providing relevance to
the visitor. All text and images should
convey useful information.
•
Design
The look and feel of your website
should immediately reflect the cause
you represent, and the message
you’re trying to convey. Establish
a clean, professional design with
abundant white space to make
browsing easy on visitors. Avoid
Flash-enabled intros as these are
slow to load for some visitors.
•
Navigation
Visitors should be able to move to
any page within your site in three
clicks or less through navigational
tools such as a search options,
sitemap and dropdown navigation.
•
Functionality
Your website should empower
your constituents to take action
and interact with your organization
through functional online tools such
as volunteer registration, online
donations and an event calendar.
•
Vitality
Frequent visitors should experience
fresh, updated content such as news
or blog postings with every visit, and
get the impression that your website
is always evolving. Post dated
content a minimum of once per week.
© Firespring
On November 3, 1996, the United Way launched their first online presence as a
simple website with very basic functionality. The Red Cross launched a basic site on
December 27 and the YMCA went live on December 30 of that year.
At the time, this was advanced practice for nonprofits, as the expense and complexity
of web development restricted most organizations from keeping pace. Having a web
presence—any web presence—was enough to set an organization apart from
the pack.
Fast-forward to modern day and nonprofits have far more options. But as affordable
access to the web has increased, so too have constituent expectations. Today, your
community of volunteers, donors and media members visit your site expecting a
great deal.
Unfortunately, many nonprofits still have outdated websites that hearken back to the
United Way of 1996. Others have built modern, dynamic sites using inefficient and
ineffective practices, wasting their limited resources.
But you don’t have to let your website live in the past, or splurge on resources to
achieve a powerful website. With these four simple steps, you can build an online
presence that breaths new life into your mission, while saving valuable time
and money.
1. DEMAND MORE FROM YOUR WEBSITE
In the late 1990s, the ‘online brochure’ was a popular website option.
At this time, many organizations would use their website to simply display text and
images about their organization’s mission statement, location and hours—much like a
printed brochure.
Today, you should demand more from your website. Your entire site should live and
breath your mission statement, utilizing professional design, content and—most
importantly—functionality to convey professionalism, establish credibility and
ultimately drive constituents to action.
A strategic, intelligent website should always target constituent action to deliver a
positive return on investment.
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Recent Developments:
Four Strategies for Building a Powerful Nonprofit Website Today
TOP TEN DIRECTIVES FROM
NONPROFIT CONSTITUENTS
The following directives were
gathered through focus group
research and represent real
comments from nonprofit constituents.
1. The front page must look clean
and organized. Otherwise, I’ll
assume you are not reputable.
2. Make the site easy to navigate.
3. How about making it easy to
volunteer and participate in
special events?
4. Help me find what I’m looking for!
5. I want to hear back quickly when I
e-mail a request for information.
6. I want one place where I can
go to get key information about
committees and assignments I’m
working on.
7. I want to interact with staff and
volunteers in online discussions.
8. Let me find your contact
information and send you an
e-mail from anywhere on the site.
9. Facts and figures are important,
but I’d much rather read about
how your organization impacts
the community.
10. Many websites I see are never
updated. It’s nice to see pages
change every so often. Update the
content once in a while.
© Firespring
2. (PAIN-FREE) RESEARCH
Before planning one detail of your website, consider one important rule—this is not
really YOUR website.
When launched, your organization’s website should be a valuable asset to your
constituents and your community. So, the final say regarding website content and
functionality should be made by those who will frequently access the site.
Many nonprofits discuss, plan, organize and execute their dream website without
ever consulting those who use it most. These sites often miss the mark and waste
marketing budget with little return on investment.
To avoid this fate, a little research is in order. Ask those loyal to your organization
what they’d like to see from your website. Ask them for specific examples of other
nonprofit sites they like and other online tools they find useful. This should provide you
with a wellspring of valuable information.
Firespring has already conducted a great deal of this research for you. Through
interacting with hundreds of nonprofits nationwide, Firespring has gained valuable
insights that reveal what your constituents are looking for in your website. See the
sidebar for the top ten directives from nonprofit constituents.
3. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR
For nonprofit organizations building a website, webmasters and agencies typically
have one major limitation—you’re forever locked to their services for content updates
and other modifications.
If you have urgent news to post, it may take two weeks and a few hundred dollars
to make the update online. And what if you want to add your latest award to your
website? More time and money wasted. When considering the content and vitality of
your website, this is a major problem.
But the modern availability of content management systems give today’s nonprofits
more power and control over their website. Content management systems are online
interfaces that allow anyone you designate to control website content with point-andclick simplicity. This means you can log in and make content changes to any page of
your website in just minutes.
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Recent Developments:
Four Strategies for Building a Powerful Nonprofit Website Today
4. COME ONE, COME ALL
Follow the previous three steps and you’ll be on the path to a powerful website, one
that will drive constituents to action and deliver a positive return on investment. But
that’s all for not if you can’t get traffic to your site.
The golden rule of promoting your website is to tell people what’s in it for them. In
other words, if a constituent visits your site, what can they expect to gain? Will they
find a list of upcoming events and be able to sign up to volunteer? Can they download
your newsletter or submit ideas for future events?
With that rule in mind, a few proven methods for promoting your website will go a
long way.
PROVEN METHODS FOR PROMOTING YOUR WEBSITE
“The golden rule of
promoting your website is
to tell people what’s in it
for them. In other words,
if a constituent visits your
site, what can they
expect to gain?”
• Include your website address on everything.
• Example: Print your website address on
• Use e-mail marketing tools to communicate
• Example: Send a professionally formatted
• Use content to draw people to your site.
• Example: Publish a weekly blog discussing
• Devise viral marketing promotions;
• Example: Create a competition where
• Submit your site to specialized directories.
• Example: Submit your website to the local
announcements to constituents and
the media.
something so compelling recipients will pass
it on to their friends and colleagues.
© Firespring
brochures, newsletters, banners, business
cards and event promotion materials.
monthly e-mail newsletter to constituents,
and include a link to your website within
every message.
your organization’s area of expertise.
visitors can find clues within your website
and win prizes.
Chamber of Commerce and other local
organizations that are relevant to your
organization and cause.
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Recent Developments:
Four Strategies for Building a Powerful Nonprofit Website Today
BRING IT ALL TOGETHER
Web development has come a long way since the early efforts of the United Way.
Today, countless tools and providers exist to help you build an effective and efficient
website solution.
Often, leveraging expert help can be the first step to piecing together an effective
web presence. Find an efficient solution that makes it easy to raise more funds and
increase communication within your community, and your website will provide a
return that greatly overshadows your investment.
About Firespring
Backed by extensive research and over ten years working directly with hundreds of
organizations, Firespring delivers the website and marketing solutions that today’s nonprofits
demand. We’ll help you streamline and enhance communications, increase awareness and
support your core mission. Today, Firespring serves over 3,000 clients on five continents.
For more information, call 888.388.5778 or visit www.firespring.com.
© Firespring
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