Digital First Impressions: Your Nonprofit’s Homepage

Your homepage is the face of your nonprofit. Whereas advertising and marketing appeals will doubtless be supporters’ first impression of your nonprofit, your homepage tells supporters all the pieces they should find out about your nonprofit (whether or not it’s intentional or not). To enhance guests’ expertise in your homepage, learn to construct and keep an accessible homepage with a contemporary design that displays the subtle nonprofit behind it. 

In the event you don’t have expertise in internet design, upgrading your web site can look like a monumental activity with the potential draw back of breaking core functionalities. That can assist you confidently lead your nonprofit’s homepage growth, this text will go over:

The primary three sections will talk about key features of your homepage, permitting you to take the primary steps in the direction of creating and sustaining a higher nonprofit web site. The final part will then talk about actionable steps you and your crew can implement to repeatedly enhance and improve your web site. 

Design developments change, and whereas your present supporters have a transparent thought of what a web site ought to appear to be now, their expectations could shift sooner or later. When you design your web site, proceed to maintain up with technological and design modifications within the nonprofit sector with a purpose to have your homepage constantly make a superb first impression. 

However first, you’ll want a stable grasp on the necessities. Let’s dive in.

• Fundamental details about your nonprofit. Fundamental info contains the identify of your nonprofit, your contact info, and an abbreviated mission assertion or abstract of what your group is. Moreover, think about spotlighting a venture your nonprofit is presently engaged on or has just lately accomplished. Maintaining common information updates in your web site provides guests examples of your work, whereas additionally assuring them your nonprofit continues to be energetic. 
• Navigation bar. Your navigation bar must be close to the highest of your homepage, must be apparent to guests upon first look, and will comprise hyperlinks to key pages in your web site. Put your self in your homepage guests’ footwear as you think about the labels in your navigation bar, particularly when you’ve got nested gadgets. Conduct consumer testing by having customers observe navigating your homepage to make sure they’re making the correct assumptions about what content material is underneath every label. 
• Hyperlink to your donation varieties. Donating must be as straightforward as potential for guests. Many nonprofits have giant, brightly coloured donation buttons positioned someplace close to the highest of their homepage. Others have the donation type already open in a sidebar or over their hero picture to let guests enter their donation info with out navigating off their homepage.
• Hyperlink to your volunteer/contact varieties. Much like your donation type, your homepage ought to characteristic a “Work with Us,” “Get Concerned,” or “Volunteer,” hyperlink someplace above the fold (or close to the highest of the web page). Remember to differentiate your volunteer type out of your careers web page, when you’ve got one. Careers and job alternatives are typically linked in your webpage’s footer if you’re recruiting. 
• Emblem. Your complete web site ought to symbolize your nonprofit’s model, and inserting your emblem entrance and middle will make it clear to guests what homepage they’re on. Your emblem ought to make an look on each web page in your web site (often within the higher proper or left nook), however could be bolder or take middle stage in your homepage. 

Think about your viewers and the way your viewers interacts together with your nonprofit as you start the design course of. Are your supporters from a particular space? Have they got particular jobs? Are they from a particular era? Take the time to analysis your viewers and conduct consumer interviews with a purpose to perceive who your web site ought to enchantment to. 

As you add design parts, take the time to ensure your web site meets accessibility tips. Add alt-text to pictures, transcripts for movies, and guarantee needed fields on donation varieties are marked by one other visible assist than simply colour alone. 

Not all web site upkeep requires you to have data of coding (although it could actually assist), and there are various routine operations you may full your self. Cornershop Artistic’s information to nonprofit web site upkeep gives a guidelines of things that features:

• Changing outdated hyperlinks. Outdated and damaged hyperlinks could make guests doubt your web site’s safety, which can trigger them to hesitate when inputting their monetary info into your donation type. Click on all recurrently used hyperlinks and take a look at hyperlinks to new pages to maintain your guests in your web site and away from 404 Error messages. 
• Checking loading occasions. In case your homepage takes longer than two seconds to load, guests could not hassle to attend, shedding you web site site visitors and potential donations. Lengthy load occasions could be attributable to giant picture information or pointless plugins. Take a look at this information for extra details about what you need to search for (and keep away from) in a WordPress plugin. 
• Actively testing varieties. Apply coming into your info into your donation, volunteer, and registration varieties to make sure info is flowing by means of to your CRM correctly and that there aren’t any pointless steps slowing down the method. 

Staying up to date on web site and on-line greatest practices requires time and routine analysis. In case your homepage has an issue you aren’t outfitted to deal with, attain out to skilled web site consultants for recommendation. For instance, critical points like a safety failure require fast consideration and warrant bringing in exterior assist to guard your donors’ safety and your fame. 

• Attending coaching programs. As nonprofit know-how evolves, the listing of issues to be taught grows together with it. Coaching programs can train you how you can profit from the instruments you may have and doubtlessly begin tackling duties in-house that  you beforehand needed to outsource. 
• Hiring a marketing consultant. You could determine that your nonprofit doesn’t have the time and sources to construct and design your homepage. On this case, look into internet design consultants specialised in nonprofits to find what you want and what choices are on the market. In the event you’ve by no means labored with an exterior knowledgeable earlier than, this information to nonprofit consultants outlines necessities to bear in mind.

Preserve your finances in thoughts as you get to work in your web site. Designing, coding, and sustaining a web site can rapidly turn into costly, so you should definitely create a listing of must-have parts and a finances to make sure nothing important is forgotten with out spending greater than needed. 

Your homepage’s guests are used to trendy internet design and can strategy your web site with particular expectations of what a homepage ought to look and act like. When you need to give these guests a novel expertise, guarantee they discover your web site straightforward to make use of, modern-looking, and safe. 

Design your web site with comfort of use and your model identification in thoughts, and recurrently replace it to ensure the hassle you place into its creation by no means goes to waste as a result of loading occasions or damaged hyperlinks. With a stable internet design basis in place, you’ll have the ability to begin bringing the entire different pages in your website in control, too. Better of luck!

In regards to the Creator

Ira Horowitz

With 15 years’ expertise, Ira is an knowledgeable in nonprofit on-line communications and on-line fundraising. His work has resulted in elevated funds and resounding supporter engagement for tons of of organizations.

Ira oversees our venture administration crew and works with shoppers to supply our shoppers with the absolute best closing product. He additionally manages all of our strategic engagements and helps information nonprofits to find out their long-term technique targets for on-line communications.