The Top Ten Elements Your Noprofit's Strategic Website Should Have

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Hosted by Kelley Jarrett, Marketing Manager and Web Strategist, GUIDE Creative

The Top Ten Elements Every Nonprofit Website Should Have

presents


Ten Best Practices


Ten Best Practices 1.  Resonate with Your Audiences 2.  Have a Focused Homepage 3.  Share Your Mission 4.  Use Compelling Imagery 5.  Ensure Ease in Navigation 6.  Include Clear, Bold Calls to Action 7.  Showcase Your Stewardship 8.  Keep Your Content Fresh 9.  Be Social 10.  Provide a Personal Touch Through Multimedia


“Your website does not exist as a boutique just to show off information about your organization. Instead, it’s actually a tool that you have employed to mobilize your audience...”

- Raheel Gauba


Resonate with your audiences Focus on your audience needs

•  Who are your audience groups and who is most important?

•  What do they care about – need, goals and aspirations?

•  How do they interact with you on and off your website?


Meet users where they are •  In less than three years mobile will be the #1 way your audience will

access your website … Are you ready?

Resonate with your audiences


“The Web is a world of first impressions, and quick ones at that. Users form an opinion of a website within the first few seconds of loading it.”

- Jason Gross

“The Role of Design in The Kingdome of Content, www.smashingmagazine.com


Have a Focused Homepage Prioritize Content

•  Wireframes are key for visual hierarchy

•  Remember YOUR goals

•  Remember your AUDIENCE’S goals


Pass the 3-second test

•  Is your homepage scanable, understandable, intuitive in 3 seconds?

Have a Focused Homepage


“Design your website around your organization’s actions and purpose. Make the mission statement clear as day.”

- Blake McCreary

“Non-Profit Web Design.”


Share Your Mission Tell your story clearly & succinctly and make it actionable

•  60% of all donors check out an organization’s website before donating - tell them why they should give…quickly before they change their mind


Share Your Mission Show your story … visually

•  Infographics, typography, links, video, imagery, photography

•  The style should fit your voice and brand


“Regardless of what your content actually says, the design around it controls what the users see first and how their eyes move across the sections of the page.”

- Jason Gross

“The Role of Design in The Kingdome of Content, www.smashingmagazine.com


Use Compelling Imagery •  Engage with eye contact … Make a personal connection

•  Show real stories of impact to gain credibility


Use Compelling Imagery Match Imagery with your brand, mood and voice - Does quality, composition and candor of your imagery jive with your user

experience?


“User-centric design has become a standard approach for successful and web design. After all, if users can’t use a feature, it might as well not exist.”

- Vitaly Friedman

“10 Principles of Effective Web Design”, www.smashingmagazine.com


Ensure ease in Navigation Navigation Systems should be intuitive and precise - Provide multiple interaction paths - Ensure context for users who come in through search or links - Does it take two-click or less for key tasks?


“Assuming that you’ve written a brilliantly persuasive page, it’s still next to worthless without a strong call to action…”

- Brad Shorr

“Five Copywriting Errors That Can Ruin a Company’s Website,”


Include clear, bold calls to action Remove all obstacles to action from anywhere

“Apply Now” should take them directly to application.

Calls to action should be clear and compelling Never say “click here” Say for example “visit us“


“Stewardship comes down to being able to show donors how their dollars were used and what impact their contributions had.”

- Cynthia Gomez

“What Is Stewardship for a Non-Profit?” www.eHow.com


Showcase Your Stewardship 60% of donors visit a nonprofit’s website before making a gift. - Show the impact (eg. stats, infographics) - Be transparent (eg. share your annual report) - Say “Thank you”


“…You need to remember that the Internet is a dynamic place, and make sure your site is constantly changing as well.”

- Randall Mains


Keep Your Content Fresh Always have something new to offer to your users - Utilize automatic feeds - Add dates to content posted to the homepage - Gather user-generated content

Timely

Upcoming Events


“Integrating the social experience into your organization’s web site will help promote the channel, engage supporters, and provide a constant source of dynamic content …”

- Melanie Mathos & Chad Norman

“101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits: A Field Guide.” John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Be Social Social media and viral sharing are highly valuable tools in contributing to web site traffic and brand exposure - Make it easy to connect, interact and

contribute


“Many of today’s most successful websites are interactive, meaning they allow people to participate in the content in some way.

- Randall Mains

Strategic Web Communication Principle #4: Interactivity” blog.pathmakermarketing.com July 12, 2009


Provide a Personal Touch Through Interactive Media Allow users to consume information in multiple ways - Your audiences’ preferences for consuming content varies, just as their

browsing and navigation styles do. Users want to consume information in various media channels and formats.


Ten Best Practices 1.  Resonate with Your Audiences 2.  Have a Focused Homepage 3.  Share Your Mission 4.  Use Compelling Imagery 5.  Ensure Ease in Navigation 6.  Include Clear, Bold Calls to Action 7.  Showcase Your Stewardship 8.  Keep Your Content Fresh 9.  Be Social 10.  Provide a Personal Touch Through Interactive


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