Is It Time for Your Nonprofit Website to Get a Makeover?

While you have been taking care of clients and managing fund raisers to try to keep the coffers full, time has marched on, technology has improved, and you have probably let your greatest promotional tool languish in obscurity - your nonprofit website. Hands down, your website is considered by most to be the single most cost effective communication tool that your organization has access to. If your organization is in a constant state of change (which it is with today's very challenging economic environment) having your mission and purpose become more and more separated from your now outdated website is simply a huge mistake.

New templates offer new choices

What many are not familiar with is that as time has marched on, many firms and software developers have been turning their attention towards creating advanced templates designed specifically for nonprofits. With very different needs than commercial websites, this is a real breath of fresh air for those that are concerned that their current nonprofit website may no longer be cutting the mustard. In addition, as your clients and donor base become more and more familiar with your old website, well, it simply becomes a little "shop-worn" and outdated. This can certainly negatively impact the levels of donations that you receive and you also may not be reaching the correct individual for providing the vital services that you perform today.

Your website is your online receptionist

Since there is much more to your website than just providing information, detailing services, and providing contact information, your nonprofit website is perhaps your number one spokesperson when it comes to getting your message out and exuding a level of vitality and can-do spirit to the ever important site visitor. One way that this has been stated by others that makes a lot of sense is to think of your site as your "front lobby" and your "receptionist." Everyone knows that providing the highest levels of service at the very onset is crucial for setting the right tone for future collaboration.

Your website is not a brochure

Always remembering that your nonprofit website is an interactive venue that should both engage and inform while requiring action on the part of your visitor; it is a major mistake to begin to think of it as a static brochure that someone will leaf through looking for something of interest. Keeping this in mind, the ability of your site to provide an interactive "contact us" page with resources dedicated to responding to these requests is a feature that many of the new websites have that was not available on some of the older websites.

It is highly recommended that leadership of the nonprofit take the time once in a while to actually visit their own website with a set of fresh eyes. Log in as a client or donor would and begin to see just how easy or difficult it is to navigate your site to find the answers to common questions, concerns, or fact finding efforts. Often one will be surprised at how it is time to refresh their nonprofit website because so much has changed over the years.

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