What Makes a Viable Non-Profit Website?

November 3rd, 2007 at 01:10pm Rebecca Borden

Jay Wilkinson of Firespring has developed a list of criteria to assess whether your non-profit website is strong or not. By the way, most non-profits score between 60-65 on Firespring’s website scorecard. He cautions that many non-profits fall victim to the common mistakes of web design. In organizations with small staffs and small budgets, they typically develop websites in house or by volunteers; by necessity, they have to do it cheap. But when organizations enable their website to animate their mission, they approach this tool as an investment in their communications and in program dissemination. Jay stressed understanding the end user of your website, which he referred to as: information seekers, volunteers, employers, job seekers, donors/contributors, public agencies, peer non-profits, etc.

Rate yourself using the 5 evaluation criteria of a viable website:

1. Content–who has access and the ability to update content on your website? Do you use a website content management platform? How frequently is content updated and by whom?
2. Design–how likely will a new ‘end user’ be able to understand what your organization does from the second they see your homepage?
   1. Tip: If you have a Flash intro before users get to content-remove it. Don’t make your user wait through an entertainment excursion to get to your site.
3. Navigation–how easy is it to get around your site? Is there an intuitive hierarchy to the content and visual layout? Don’t get creative with your site structure’s design with the late-adopter in mind.
4. Functionality–how much is your site built with the ‘end user’ in mind? Can they purchase tickets in one click? Can they get to your events, schedule, calendars easily? What about a prospective donor is online donation in place? (Jay recommended Network for Good)
5. Vitality–how often is new content posted? What is the perceived freshness of your content?
   1. Tip: posted dated content (news item, announcement, headline) at least once a week [Nov 3, 2007].

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