Website design for non-profit organizations. Basic principles

The site of non-profit organizations is fundamentally different from all others. And they also choose a special website design is not all that is important to know.. Information resources or store sites are needed by people themselves: an interesting article or a necessary product.

— In such a model, the site needs users, but the site also needs users.

The sites of non-profit organizations do not create a profitable offer, at most they provide interesting information about socially important phenomena that are unlikely to directly affect an ordinary citizen.

— Users need the site much more than the site needs them.

“Selling” people an idea is much more difficult than a trendy hoodie. Accordingly, the approach to creating an NGO website should be special.

This article is part of our larger article on Creating a website for non-profit organizations. Here we will talk about the design for the NGO website: basic principles, specifics and tips.

It should be said that the structure of the site proposed by us is not fundamentally correct. Some points you can make separate pages, others only as blocks of a separate page. The main thing is to reveal each of the points, and in what way and in what sequence to do it depends on the specifics of the organization and your personal design vision.

Website design: Home page

This is the most important page of the site (that’s why it’s the “main” page); it kind of introduces the user to your organization. If a person is not interested, then he will not read the “blog”, “mission”, etc. Therefore, on the main page, you should briefly state the most important information about your organization.

It should be noted that the fulfillment of all points is not mandatory. You can include all items on the main page or only where some – the main thing is to convey the importance of your organization’s activities.

Main page structure:

• An image that draws attention to the problem.
• Brief description of the project. It is advisable to come up with a short but catchy slogan.
• Mission – briefly tell about the activities of the organization.
• Goals — what the organization does to achieve its mission.
• Team — general features of the members of the organization and why you are doing it.
• List of partners — logos of organizations or companies cooperating with your NGO.
• Contacts — a way to contact you by phone, e-mail, social media. networks
• A form for filling in the user’s contact data (“to receive interesting information” – you can encourage in various ways).
• A button that allows you to quickly go to the page to send a donation.

The form for contact information and the donation button can be shuffled around on different parts of the page. Usually, several buttons are placed between the main points, and the form is at the bottom.

Also, thematic graphic images should be placed between points. These can be touching photos or achievements in numbers, such as “10 hectares of forest have been cleared of debris since the beginning of the year” or an attention-grabbing list such as “Whom our organization helps”.Optionally, you can add “Reviews” or “Partners”.

Website design:Blog

We talked about this sector in more detail in a separate article, but here we will briefly tell what a “blog” should be.

Regularly publish interesting materials and news from the industry in which your organization operates. This will further interest new users and attract an audience of regular site visitors. The news will also benefit from free promotion from Google, who will show your articles in their news feed, which will attract new users.

Mission

Comprehensively tell about the mission of your organization. Point out the problem, its causes and negative consequences using scientific materials and statistics. Describe exactly how your organization solves this issue in practice: what methods it uses, what resources it needs for this and why.

Detailed information about the issue will show your awareness and attract more attention from the reader if it is accompanied by references to authoritative sources. The setting of specific tasks and a detailed description of the ways to their implementation is transparency, which raises the level of the reader’s trust.

About us

A standard item for almost any site. Tell the story of your organization: why you decided to do it, how you got to what you have now and briefly about the key members or the qualities that unite you in general.

It will be cool if you make a window with photos of the members of the organization and their brief description. This will increase the level of trust in you.

It is very important to be frank and demonstrate your bright intentions to the reader, because the desire to help you will directly depend on his trust.

Website design:Contacts

“Openness” of the organization obliges to be in contact with users. In this section, you should indicate active phone numbers, e-mail, links to social networks and, preferably, your location on the map. In this way, you show openness and that you have nothing to hide.

Reviews and certificates

Make a separate section where positive feedback from happy people whom you have helped is attached. These can be both videos and cases or simply letters from citizens.

It will also be useful to publish various certificates and official letters of thanks, if you have them. You can also attach a list of your organization’s partners here.

Banner for donations

This element of the site should be approached most creatively because it will be on all pages. There are different banners: animated, with a choice of the size of the bite and the type of donation, with a countdown to some event, etc. Choose to your taste, the main thing is that it should attract attention.

Also add pop-ups asking for a donation or information about an upcoming event with a counter. But do not overdo it – a large number of pop-ups can scare away users.

Widgets

The main widget for NGO sites is the donation banner, but there are others. The most popular are the feedback widgets, by clicking on which you can call the manager or open a chat and ask a question by text. For NGOs, this is not a very mandatory item, but if the organization is large, it will not be superfluous.

Menu and Website design

On the website of non-profit organizations, the menu should be kept open so that all items are visible to the reader. On large sites, such as stores, the menu is hidden and opens by pressing a button. This decision is due to the large number of menu items that will be superfluous in an already overloaded interface.

NPO sites are usually small and have few menu items, so you should keep it open, which will increase the probability of the user moving to different pages. Usually, the open menu is designed in the form of a horizontal panel.

Important tips

Website design is not all that is important to know.

Content should be as “friendly” as possible

Even if you are helping the seriously injured or victims of domestic violence, there is no need to show shocking images. It is necessary to convey the importance of your activity, but not to cross the line, so as not to alienate the user – he should understand your problem, but feel comfortable.

Add compelling information

Words about the danger of the problem that your organization solves may be true, but they are worthless without facts. Add statistics from reliable sources (and links to them) to strengthen the text and make it more persuasive.

It will also be useful to add information about how your organization benefits. If there are statistics – well, there are none – just report the amount of work done at the moment.

It will be especially convincing to add a special section with your goals and achievements. People will be able to see which tasks you have planned and which have already been completed. Also, what you need to accomplish them and how you plan to achieve your goals. Transparency is a very important element for user trust.

Simple website design

Speaking the “language of design” is difficult, but the basics can be mastered. Your goal is to move the user and draw his attention to important social issues. Therefore, the design should be as friendly as possible, concise and with simple navigation.

Simplicity is the key detail. If the user is interested in the problem, but it will be difficult for him to understand how to help you and he will simply leave, this will be a silly mistake of the designer.

Optimization

Do not be lazy and thoroughly test the site.All buttons and pages should work as they should and load quickly even on a calculator. Losing a potential donor because he waited too long for the page to load or the donation button did not work is also unacceptable. It is also important to optimize the site for work on mobile devices.

Fewer words

If you are a non-profit organization, then most likely you are engaged in socially important matters. They bother you and you have a lot to say. But the reader is not interested in all the details, the main thing for him is to learn the main thing – without unnecessary details. Therefore, it is important to write briefly and to the point on the main page, and for more detailed information there is a blog.

Calls to action

It is not very pleasant to “beg” for money, but it is necessary. Add clickable call-to-action banners to each page that can be clicked to donate money to your cause. Place the banners so that they do not interfere with reading the content, but also attract attention.

Google Ad Grants

Google has a free advertising program for non-profit organizations. The company provides a grant for the promotion of the site in the search in the amount of $10,000/month. This is significant support for any organization, and getting a grant is very easy. To do this, it is enough to adapt the site to Google’s requirements, which includes:

• information about the mission of the organization;
• quality optimization;
• secure https protocol;
• only working links;
• block with articles of non-commercial mail;
• regularly updated blog;
• benefit for society;
• absence of advertising that is not related to the organization’s field of activity.

A more detailed article about Google Ad Grants is also available on our website.