Web Design
Your website is the most important component of your nonprofit’s web presence. It’s great if you’re huge on social media or have an awesome newsletter, but ultimately visitors should be driven to your website. It’s becoming increasingly important that your website helps your nonprofit not only function more efficiently, but also stand out in your visitor’s memory.
Template and Custom Websites
When building a new website, there are two different routes you can go. You can either do a design based on a template or do a custom design from scratch. Both options are outlined below:
| Design Based on Template | Custom Design from Scratch | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts around $5,500 | Starts around $6,500 |
| Design | Based on a template that may be used by others | Totally unique to your nonprofit |
| Customization | Customized to reflect your nonprofit's look and feel, including colors and style | Designed from scratch to match your branding and the look and feel your organization wants |
| Functionality | Can include custom functionality tailored to suit the needs of your organization | Can include custom functionality tailored to suit the needs of your organization |
| Ability to Update | Built on a content management system so you'll be able to update and manage your own site | Built on a content management system so you'll be able to update and manage your own site |
Your Website Should Help Your Nonprofit
Sure, your website should look beautiful and represent your nonprofit well. But we think your website should also be a tool that actually helps your organization serve your community more effectively. Here are some examples of functionality that may be helpful to your nonprofit:
- Allow your donors to give directly through your website
- Manage donor information and automate processes like sending “Thank You” emails
- Allow visitors to see upcoming volunteer opportunities and sign up to volunteer directly through your website
- Maintain a database of volunteers and automate processes like sending reminder emails or volunteer project updates
- Allow your supporters to easily sign up for your email newsletter
- Establish your authority by maintaining a blog and providing useful resources to your visitors
- Integrate your social media presence and promote conversations within your community
You Run Your Own Website
We believe you should be able to run your own website. As a result, we build all of our websites on a content management system (CMS), which means you’ll be able to run your own site without calling us. Of course we’re always around if any questions come up. Here are some examples of things you’d potentially be able to do:
- Edit the text on every page of the website
- Add, edit and delete photos from each page and within photo galleries
- Embed videos from YouTube
- Write and publish blog posts for your website and manage comments
- Create new volunteer activities and promote them throughout the website
- Update an event calendar with upcoming events and allow guests to RSVP
- Accept donations directly on your website
We use two of the most popular content management systems around, WordPress and Drupal, which power websites for organizations such as The White House, CNN Politics and Warner Brothers Records.
Training
At the end of your website project, we’ll train you and your team on how to use each piece of your website. We’ll also write up a custom training guide for you to reference in the future. While we think you should be able to run your own website, we recognize it’s our job to empower you to do so.
If you have any questions or want more information on a website project, please send us an email or give us a call at (314) 801-1328. We’re always happy to answer questions and, if we’re not the right fit, hopefully we can at least point you in the right direction.
Web Design Articles
For some tips on building a great nonprofit website, check out some articles we’ve written on the topic:
How Your Nonprofit Can Fund a New Website
How to Choose the Right Web Design Company for Your Nonprofit
How Your Nonprofit Can Accept Donations Online Right Now
How to Get More Online Donations
7 Common Barriers to Online Giving