BRIEFING PAPER 5
Top tips for an effective website
This briefing from ICT Champions outlines key ideas to think about and signposts further resources.
1. Website planning
Whether you’re planning a new site or enhancing an existing one, start by writing down and agreeing
what you want. Questions to consider include:

What do we need a website for, and what kinds of information do we want to include?

Who will be using the website? Ask the potential users what they want to get from it.

What specific requirements do we have for our website (e.g. calendar, news items, or a directory)?

Who do we expect to be maintaining and updating the site once it is up and running?
For more information see: www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/introductiongetawebsite
2. Content
Make your website interesting to your target audience. Keep it up to date to encourage return visits with
frequently updated news, examples of work and information relevant to your target audience. Consider:

timely news items, or a calendar of forthcoming events or activities

a list of staff or key volunteers, with photos or a video, and appropriate contact information

links to relevant websites and resources, or a directory of useful contacts / member organisations

a search facility, together with an ‘About us’ or ‘What we do’ page
3. Accessibility
The ‘Web accessibility pack for voluntary and community organisations’ provides a guide to making your
website work for people with different disabilities, such as blind people using text readers. It is available
at: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advice-support/ict/publications
4. Commissioning a website
Although some people build their own website, many will commission someone else to design and build
it. Whether you buying in a web designer, or using a volunteer it is best to start by writing a website brief
which clearly sets out what you require. For guidance on writing a brief and what to include, see:
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/websitebrief
5. Choosing a website and managing content

Choose a solution that enables staff and/or volunteers to add and update content with ease, as
regularly updated content attracts more visitors. A common approach is to use a content
management system (CMS), see: www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/choosingacms

Options for creating a simple website that’s easily updated (particularly useful for small groups) include:
Wordpress www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/usingwordpress and Google sites www.google.com/sites

Choose a solution that can grow and change over time. Most CMS systems can be updated but
some have more features from the start – although beware of using a feature just because it’s there!

When designing your site, such as navigation, images and colours, make sure you ask people from
your potential audience for their views. Basic user-testing before launch helps avoid problems later.

Choose a domain name which is easy for people to remember, and make sure it is registered to your
organisation rather than a third party.
6. Web 2.0 / Social media
Integrating Web 2.0 tools / social media content into your website helps make it look more dynamic,
interactive and social - and encourages people to make more use of your site. For example:

Provide links to Twitter or Facebook (if your organisation uses either of these).
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Share photographs, videos or audio clips using Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube or iPadio.

Use email subscription and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to enable people to receive
updates without needing to visit your site each time.

Encourage discussions about your work with web pages and blogs that allow comments to be made.
For further information about social media, see the ‘Social media planning guide for voluntary sector
organisations’ at: www.ictchampions.org.uk/downloads
7. Further information
For further information on developing an effective website:

The Lasa ICT Knowledgebase has a wealth of information directly relevant to voluntary and
community websites, at: www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/youronlinepresence

Business Link’s online guide ‘Develop a website’ covers wide range of topics, including good practice
in web design and Web 2.0, at: www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1074448623
Regional ICT Champions
There is an ICT Champion in every region, a trusted expert who can answer frequently asked questions
about ICT and how it can help the third sector. The ICT Champions website tells you who they are and
offers short, jargon-free answers, useful links, factsheets, sample policies to download and a calendar of
ICT-related events and workshops. www.ictchampions.org.uk
Written by:
Issued date:
ICT Champions
November 2010
Creative Commons License: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales.
(For details see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ )