How to Set Up a Non-Profit Website

You’re doing good. You’re changing the world. But now you need a website. Because Non-profit organisations rely on communication and a website is a crucial tool to tell your story, share more about the cause and gather support for it. So, creating a professional online presence to promote your work, recruit volunteers and reach out to potential donors is vital for the growth of your projects.

What Are the Benefits of Having a Website For a Non-profit?

You may wonder if you need a website for your non-profit in the first place. The answer is: yes, of course you do. That’s because a professionally created website offers several important benefits for your non-profit organisation or fundraiser:

• Spread the word: Your website gives you your own, self-sufficient space to share your ideas with people around the world.
• Expand your reach: It’ll open whole new doors for you by helping attract the attention of search engines and, through them, people who are interested in your work.
• Amplify local involvement: Many first become aware of charity events through a website. Encourage your online visitors to take action offline.

That said, here’s everything you need to know about how to get your non-profit website off the ground.

Choose the Right Domain Extension

An online presence is a great way to let the world know what you are doing and why you are doing it. You can share information and convince people to get involved. But before you do that, you new website needs a domain name.

Your domain name is your address on the internet (e.g. greenpeace.org) so, ideally, you’re going to name your site after your organisation, or failing that coming up with something creative like weare.charity. When choosing what comes after the dot, it’s best to avoid a commercial .com domain extension. There are far more appropriate ones that’ll fit your purpose better and let your visitors know what your website is about before they even enter.

Use Descriptive TLDs like .charity, .foundation & .gives

You can instantly work out that www.christmasdinner.charity is not about selling Santa-themed tablecloths, but rather helping those in need. With a descriptive top-level domain (TLD, the bit after the dot) people can tell right away what your website is about before they even visit; it’s self-explanatory.

Domain extensions such as .charity, gives, and .foundation are the most credible, trustworthy ones when it comes to showing your purpose.

• .charity clearly shows that you are committed to philanthropy and charitable causes. A .charity domain name can support any kind of mission, from protecting endangered species to providing healthcare in developing countries.
• .gives shows your charity in action, as one that’s doing something, and could drive others to do the same.
• .foundation lets people know you’re about making a real impact on the world, whether your approach is scientific, educational, cultural, or religious.

Find a Domain Name for Your Non-Profit

The Original NPO Extension: .org

Of course, the .org extension is already the online home for thousands of non-profit and mission-driven organisations and individuals around the world. It has earned a trusted reputation and has backed millions of voices for over 30 years.

Not only can you use .org to tell your story, but the TLD itself supports a greater cause. More than 50 percent of the revenue from each .org domain name helps keep the internet open, free, and accessible to everyone. This means, your online presence can help make the internet a better place simply by existing. Pretty cool, right?

Pro Tip: The .org registry also offers helpful resources and tips through their .org Learning Center. With testimonials, videos, and articles from professionals across the industry, these tools will help you with everything from how to manage your social media presence to accelerating your fundraising goals.

Build Your Site

Essential Elements of a Non-profit Website

We probably don’t need to tell you that you should state your mission visibly and clearly on your homepage or even in your header. People online get distracted fast, so make sure you land your key message straight away. Because, in the end, this is why you and your visitors are here. After your mission statement, you can get into the details, e.g. in the news section.

Don’t forget to include compelling images and videos of your initiatives in your website design. They don’t just make your page easier on the eye, they help build an emotional connection while making you seem more real. With photos and bios of key members, you can show who is behind all this and build trust. Putting faces behind the brand not only gives you credibility and authenticity but also recognises the hard work of your team.

The simplest way to make this all happen is by using a website builder like WordPress or similar. They’ll let you decide on your website’s look by picking from a range of themes, and then add the extra functionality you need with plugins. Like, for example, a donation plugin to run fundraising campaigns and get people involved. Building an appealing donation page and using the right donation form will help you persuade and convert donors.

Even if your visitors don’t donate right away, you at least want them to follow your projects. Think of your supporters’ journey as a multi-channel experience that builds on their initial interest. There may be other ways to help, or they may convert at a later stage. You just need to keep them engaged with CTAs (Call To Actions) for your newsletter and social media.

Don’t Forget Hosting

Alright, time to talk tech. The good news is that you don’t need any web development skills to build your website. Just check out our WordPress Hosting page.

WordPress is a beginner-friendly content management system, much like WIX and Squarespace. The great thing about these systems is that you basically just need to choose a website template, then customise your content and design elements with a simple drag-and-drop editor; no HTML knowledge required. Best of all, WordPress themes are mobile-responsive, i.e. they adjust automatically on mobile devices.

To make your web design reflect your nonprofit, you can tweak the style by adding your own images, branding, and colour scheme. You can add useful WordPress widgets such as contact forms, social icons on your footer or sidebar, polls, and surveys.

Pro Tip: The choice of templates can be overwhelming. But, you can filter the list with the keyword “nonprofit” to get a suitable and relevant selection.

Optimise Your Site for Search Engines

If you want to be found online, you going to need a properly optimised, user-friendly website. And if you don’t use SEO techniques, which are mostly common sense, you will miss out on potential visitors.

First, create a website that not only looks good but is also easy to navigate, contains valuable information, talking about the right topics and keywords. But what are the right keywords? There’s no point in just picking them at random, you need to find out what people looking for websites and organisations like yours are actually searching for. To get a rough idea, you can use free tools like answerthepublic.com. For more in-depth, concrete recommendations on how to rank better on Google, give Yoast a go (it’s a WordPress plugin).

Finally, it’ll make it easier for people to find you online, if you show where are offline. Search engines not only see it as a good sign you’re real, they also use your location to help people find groups close to them. So, especially if local engagement matters to you, you should dive deeper into local SEO and the importance of a business listing on Google.

When done right, your website becomes a powerful tool to attract visitors. And more awareness leads to more support and more donations: it’s that simple.

Promote Your Cause

Social Media Marketing

Besides creating brand awareness, you can use them to engage your followers, recruit volunteers and attract potential donors. Posting pictures and videos of everything from your daily work to your big drives are not only entertaining but also conveys to your audience that action is needed.

Don’t forget to include donation buttons or links to your donation page. After all, you don’t want to miss any support 😉

Email Marketing

Last but not least, is email marketing. And no, sending an email confirmation after a successful online donation isn’t enough. Email is a useful tool to find volunteers and let your subscribers know how else they can support you.

A weekly (or monthly, if that’s more manageable) newsletter with up-to-date information about your organisation, donation needs, and opportunities is both personal and powerful. With repeated contact keep your cause in people’s minds.

Enough words, now’s the time to do something. You’ve done your research, and now it’s time to actually establish your internet presence and start thriving online. And while we don’t know what your cause entails, we know that the best place to start is by securing your .charity, .foundation, .gives, or .org domain, and building from there.