What a nonprofit website needs: pages, words and photos

A nonprofit website needs to serve three groups at once: people who need your help, people who might give money, and people who might give time. The pages that do it are few: a home page that says what you do in one sentence, a page for each program, ways to help, an about page with your board and finances, and a contact path for each group. Most small nonprofit sites have the right pages but put them in the wrong order for the people reading.

Three audiences, three first questions

Before deciding on pages, think about who arrives and what they want first:

• People you serve want to know: can you help me, and how do I get it? A family looking for a food pantry wants hours and an address, not your history.
• Donors want to know: is this real, does the money do good, and how do I give?
• Volunteers want to know: what would I do, when, and how do I sign up?

Board members, grant officers and local reporters also visit. They look for your legal name, leadership, finances and contact person.

The home page should give each group a clear path within the first screen. Three plain buttons often work: "Get help", "Volunteer", "Donate".

The pages to have

Home

One sentence that says what you do, for whom, and where: "We deliver hot meals to homebound seniors in Lane County." Then the three paths, one photo of the work, and a short paragraph or a few numbers you can actually back up from your own records, such as meals delivered last year.

Get help (or Services)

If you serve people directly, this page comes first in the menu. Say who qualifies, what they get, when and where, what to bring, and how to start. Write it at a level anyone can read, and translate it if many of the people you serve speak another language.

Programs

One section or page per program, each saying what it does, who it serves and what changed because of it. We go further into writing these in mission, programs and donations for small nonprofits.

Donate

A short page with a clear button to your giving provider, the ways to give besides online (check, monthly, in memory of someone, gifts of stock if you accept them), and your mailing address for checks. Include your legal name and that you are a registered tax-exempt organization, with your EIN, the federal tax ID number, so donors and their accountants can verify you. Donors can confirm your status through the IRS's own lookup tool at irs.gov.

Volunteer

What volunteers do, typical shifts, any age limits or background checks, and a sign-up form or link. If you need a specific skill, such as drivers or bookkeepers, say so.

About

Your story in a few paragraphs, your staff and board with names, and how to reach the director. Add your annual report or a short summary of the year if you have one, and your Form 990 or a link to where donors can find it. Transparency is the main thing small donors look for.

Contact

A general email, a phone number, an address if you have an office or site, and who to contact for what: help, donations, volunteering, media.

Words that work

Write like you would explain your work to a neighbor at a cookout. Avoid sector words like "underserved populations", "capacity building" or "stakeholders". Say who, what and where.

Show results with specifics from your own records: "Last winter we delivered meals to" and then your real count of households. Only use figures you can stand behind. Never round up or borrow national numbers to sound bigger; a small, true number is more convincing.

Tell short stories only with permission, and change details when the people you serve need privacy. A story about a volunteer is often easier to share than one about a client.

Photos that help a nonprofit

Real photos of your work beat polished stock images every time:

• Volunteers doing the actual work, from the side or behind
• Your building, van or distribution site, so people recognize it
• Events, with permission from those in the photo
• The director and board, in plain photos

Be careful with the people you serve. Get written permission before posting anyone identifiable, and avoid photos that show people at their lowest moment. Children need a parent's consent. When in doubt, photograph hands, food, tools and places instead of faces.

What to leave out

• A long history on the home page. Give it its own page, and keep it short there too.
• Pages for programs that ended.
• Old event pages from years ago that still show up when people search.
• Any personal details of the people you serve.
• Several different donate buttons that go to different places. One provider, one button style, everywhere.

The contact path

Different people need different contacts. A food bank's client needs the distribution phone line; a donor needs the director's email. Put both on the contact page with a label for each. Make phone numbers tappable on phones. If you have office hours, say them, and say when emails get answered.

Make sure the contact form reaches someone who still works or volunteers with you. Board turnover and volunteer changes often leave forms sending to an old address. Where website contact form messages go explains how to check.

What to do this week

• Rewrite your home page opening as one sentence: what you do, for whom, where.
• Add three clear paths on the home page: get help, volunteer, donate.
• Put your legal name and EIN on the donate page.
• Send a test message through your contact form and see who receives it.

If your nonprofit already has a site with good content but it is dated or hard for volunteers to update, you can see your site rebuilt and judge it before changing anything.