How to design a website for an NGO

You work hard for your cause by doing good work, getting volunteers to work together, and raising money. Now is the time to tell people about what you do. A well-designed website is one of the best ways for your charity to get people’s attention, spread the word about what you do, build trust, and do even more good.

You can also use your nonprofit’s website as a useful tool to raise money, plan events, get volunteers involved, and talk about the good things that have happened.

You can make a website that is easy to design and keep up with and that shows off the best of your nonprofit’s work. Read on to learn more about how to start, design, and optimise a website for a charity or nonprofit.

Choosing a web address

One of the best ways to make your nonprofit website look more professional and trustworthy is to give it a unique domain name (web address).

You can register any kind of domain you want, but for a nonprofit website, a.org domain is best. This tells people who visit your site that you are a non-profit or community-based group (even though there are no official restrictions on who can use a .org domain).

There’s a chance that the name of your organisation is already taken as a.org domain. If this is the case, try to think of something else that is easy to remember and spell.

You can skip this step and come back to it later if you’re still not sure what you want your domain to be. Now comes the fun part, which is making your site…

How to choose the best website template for a nonprofit

You don’t have to use a certain “nonprofit” template. With the right pictures and text, any template can be used to make a great website for a nonprofit. The template for your website tells you where the logo, navigation menu, content area, and sidebar will be on every page.

Choosing the best one will depend on the features and content you have as well as your own preferences. Keeping your contact information, social media icons, and donate button is easy if you choose a template with a sidebar on the left or right. Sidebar content is always visible, so it’s a good place for things you want to show up on every page.

If you have a lot of great photos that you want to show off, you might want to use a template with a large content area and room for a large background photo.

You can change your template at any time by logging into your website, clicking Templates in the Site Admin, and then choosing one to preview from the alphabetical list. If you like it, click Save. If you don’t, click Undo and try something else.

Designing websites for charities

Most people who go to a nonprofit’s website expect to find certain things there. You want to make sure that all the different people who visit your site can find the information they need. This includes volunteers who want to help, potential donors who want to learn more about you and (hopefully) decide to donate, and even the press who want to get in touch with you or write about your issue.

You can start with these pages:

1. Home

The home page is where people will see you for the first time. Make sure that this page has the most important text about your nonprofit. Ask yourself: What would I tell someone who didn’t know anything about my organisation? Most people won’t stay on a website for more than 15 seconds before leaving, so it’s important to put this short blurb or “elevator pitch” near the top of the homepage. Visitors to your nonprofit’s website shouldn’t have to look through a lot of pages to find out what it does.

Your organisation’s homepage will look different depending on what kind of organisation you run, but as a general rule, it should tell people what the organisation is, what it does and where it works, how it has helped people, and how people can join. Then, on your other pages, you can go into more depth and give more information.

You could also put your latest news, blog posts, or upcoming events on your homepage. If you chose a template with a sidebar, this might be where you put your social media icons, donation button, and newsletter signup form (more on these below). Make sure that “Donate” is easy to find in your top navigation. If people want to do that, you should make it easy for them to do so.

You can also show off some high-quality photos on your homepage. The right picture can make people feel something, draw them in, and, most importantly, bring the people or causes you support to life. If you don’t have your own photos yet, you can use great photos from stock photo websites for free.

2. About

You gave people a quick overview on the homepage, but you can go into more detail on the “About” page. About three to four paragraphs of text on this page should answer things like:

• What does this charitable group do?
• How does it change things?
• How long has it existed?
• Where does it do its work?
• How does it work, and how is it different from other groups that work on the same kinds of problems?

For a more complete “About” page, consider adding a drop-down menu of subpages, such as “Mission and Values,” “Staff,” “History,” or “Financial Information.”

You can also add pictures of your staff or a short interview with the people in charge of your nonprofit to your About page to bring your story to life.

3. Template for Non-Profits in Chicago

Our Work on the Chicago Template

On this page, you could give more information about the problem or issue that your nonprofit is trying to solve. Why does it matter, and why should your site visitors care? This is also a good place to list the different things you are doing. This page could also be called “What We Do” or something similar.

4. Testimonies/Stories of Success

Donors want to know that the money they give will be used to do something, not just to talk. Include a page with stories of how your organisation has made an impact or changed things. You could also show examples of impact through a photo gallery or an interactive, embeddable timeline (like those from Tiki Toki, Dipity, or TimeGlider) to make the page look and feel more alive. Not only will success stories give your organisation a human face, but they will also make your organisation look more trustworthy and effective.

5. Donate/Get Involved

The “Donate” section of a nonprofit’s website may be the most important part for some. Some nonprofits just want to get money. Volunteers, in-kind donations, and other things can help other people. No matter what your nonprofit needs, make sure to make a website that makes it clear how people can help. This page should be easy to find and tell people exactly what they can do, like make a donation, contact you about volunteer opportunities, or spread the word about your cause. Make sure there is a clear call to action for whatever you choose to highlight so that people who are moved by your website know what to do next.

6. Contact

If you’ve done your job well, people who look at your website should want to get in touch with you. Make it clear and easy for people to contact you. You can do this by making a separate “Contact” page, or you can add your contact information to existing places, like the sidebar of your website, which will appear on every page, or your “Get Involved” page. Make it clear who people should contact if you expect different kinds of questions (for example you might have someone on your team who can talk to reporters, and someone else who coordinates volunteers).