Admitting that your website has some problems is a courageous step on the path to improving it. You’ve done well… but not well enough. The most important thing about non-profit marketing is the need to engage your audience. The responsibility falls into your hands. Tweaking some aspects of your non-profit website can make it more effective.
Here are some tips to help you improve your non-profit website:
Keep your site simple, clear and focused
For the love of low bounce rate, please keep your non-profit website simple. You don’t have to use a little-too-much type of design. Don’t be afraid to make use of “white space”. It keeps the readers focused and can help break up text and images. Go for a neat design that doesn’t strain the eye from looking. If you feel the need to use colors, don’t go overboard with it. Use colors that match and complement features of your page. Ask yourself, does the text color blend with the background color. Does it match your logo? And so on… You can never go wrong if you stick to black text on a white background; it’s the perfect contrast.
Also, keep your site focused. Your visitors should never suffer the pain of looking too far to get what they want. Have a clear call to action. If you want your visitors to apply for a fundraiser, prominently display the Donate button. Your visitors should be able to understand what you’re offering in a few seconds. They should be able to find the information they need on your landing page as quick as possible.
Keep your site flexible, navigable, intuitive and innovative
Your site should be able to adapt to any browser whatsoever and it must also be responsive to fit into any device’s screen size. A navigable site is the site that offers best user experience. Try to not make your website seem like a labyrinth waiting to swallow up your visitors without paving way for an escape. Have a suitable and functional site map and also a search function which can help them jump to the pages they want to see.
Keeping your website intuitive means your visitors don’t have to think too hard. They should be able to access all information they need with a few clicks (Three clicks.) Use tabs to ensure your webpages are kept short and the visitors do not scroll too long.
Also, keeping your site innovative is a special thing to do. You want to amaze your visitors with new features on your website. Good and professionally made images bring life to a website. Keep it fresh and innovative all the time.
Make your content superb
Your content is the main thing people visiting your website want to see. It doesn’t matter if you can’t produce content more than the minimal 500 word count; what matters is that every piece of content on your webpages should stress quality not quantity. If your content is well informative, professionally written and very easy to understand, you have done a great job. Truth is, most site visitors aren’t patient and they want things kept short and concise. Make sure your content is updated every now and then. This, not only keeps the visitors coming, it also adds up to your SEO ranking. Consider adding images and videos to your content. It shakes things up and makes your website look intriguing and interesting. Put your most compelling content front and center.
Incorporate social media onto your website
Make your non-profit website social media friendly. Include social sharing links on every page of your website. Urge and encourage your visitors to share videos and images found on your website via these share buttons. It will drive in new traffic to your website, retain your regular visitors and it will help grow your website by building a good community around it. So go ahead, include that facebook, twitter, linkedin, pinterest, etc sharing links into your website; you’ll love the new outcome.
Add the email newsletter feature
If you don’t have this on your website already, you should consider it. Allow your visitors to sign up for your newsletter. It keeps them coming back whenever new and fresh content arrives. It is also a great way to build and maintain relationships with your regular visitors. Through email newsletter, you can keep contact with visitors who have shown interest in your website and this could go a long way in improving your site.
Pay attention to your blog
If you are to have a blog, you must be totally committed to it. A blog is like your website’s good friend. It provides a way to share latest news and to engage with your visitors. Having a blog can improve your SEO ranking and improve your ratings.
Keep your Website SEO’d
All that beautiful imagery and quality content you have on your website may go to waste if no one can find your website on the search engines. It is important to build your website with SEO in mind. Keep a sharp eye on the searchable terms you want to rank on. You should know that webpages rank not websites, so pay attention to all the pages on your website while keeping SEO in mind.
Install Google Analytics and use the metrics to see how you can improve your website
- Use the appropriate Keywords to describe your website
- Know which pages attract the most visitors and improve the other pages that do poorly.
- Build and test your search function. See which keywords are frequently searched for.
- The homepage description of your organization must be concise and clear.
Using these easy tips could improve your non-profit website significantly. Remember, the little tweaks could cause a huge influx of visitors. Have a blast!