Non-profit organisations are just like any other business; they need a solid online presence just to exist in the digital-first landscape.
From strong digital marketing campaigns to optimising online search visibility, everywhere nonprofits appear online points their donors, communities and customers to one place: their website. So having a well-designed site isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential. Designing the best user experience considers the differences between nonprofit and other business types. So, let’s look at what makes them different and why it matters.
Mission-Centric Focus
At the beginning of any website project here at Hallam, we ask, ‘What are your user missions? What are your users on your website to do, to achieve?’ If a successful visit to your website results in a user achieving their goal, then it’s essential to understand what these are.
For non-profit organisations, user missions revolve around the organisation’s mission. A key reason for the website is to convey its mission, with users often visiting their website to find out more about their purpose, build trust in their projects and actions, support their cause and become part of a community of like-minded people committed to making a difference.
Weaving this narrative and telling their story is what their website is all about. They sell the dream of the good they do and encourage visitors to get involved.
Community Engagement
Commercial sites often focus on customer interaction, engaging users and enticing them to purchase, booking demos, contacting customer services, etc. Non-profit organisations emphasise building and nurturing community, supporters, and volunteers. Features such as discussion forums, social media integration, event calendars, and volunteer sign-ups are designed to facilitate active participation and ongoing involvement.
Here is where we get the overlap between online and offline and how the website can facilitate and aid offline community experiences from advertising events, allowing online booking to sharing and showcasing past events and encouraging social interaction. By providing opportunities for collaboration, non-profit websites can strengthen their community’s commitment, turning passive visitors into passionate advocates who actively contribute to their mission.
A good example of this is a feature on the Eden Project’s community site. Their “The Big Lunch Map” tool is an interactive map and search function that helps users locate community lunches and events based on their location, connecting them with local opportunities to get involved.
Relationship Building
Non-profits put more into transparency, trust, and consistent communication than other businesses. With a loyal community of returning visitors, it offers a different experience to sites that expect users to visit their site a handful of times before conversion. Non-profits expect users to feel personally invested in the cause. This can be seen through personalised content, regular updates, newsletters, and features such as donor recognition programs, all considered when building the site.
SEO and content strategy
Creating content for a non-profit site is just as much about making sure it resonates with visitors as it is about being optimised for search engines. Weaving the mission into the narrative across the site in areas such as case studies and resources gives visitors information about projects they might be interested in and inspires action to get involved, spread the word or donate.
A well-thought-through content strategy reaches the right people through search engines but, more importantly, builds trust with visitors by showing the real-world impact of the organisation’s work. It’s about more than just bringing in traffic—it’s about keeping people engaged and turning casual visitors into long-term supporters.
Donation integration
When we get down to the nitty-gritty of features and functions of a site, one of the most important things for a non-profit is how visitors donate online. Including donation integration and designing the experience so it is seamless for visitors to use is super important. You don’t want a lousy experience design to block visitors, making them give up and give their money elsewhere.
By strategically placing donation call-to-action (CTA) throughout the site and simplifying the giving process, non-profits can increase conversion rates and sustain their operations. There are all sorts of things to include here, such as integrating recurring donation options, being transparent and showing where the money goes, and offering multiple payment methods, all of which give visitors trust and engage them, making it easy for them to contribute and feel confident that their donations are making an impact.
Mobile optimisation for donors
Non-profit sites will have a high level of mobile users visiting them. Whether they’ve come from social media or perhaps a news article, browsing a website while on the go needs to be a simple experience. When a non-profit website is optimised for mobile, everything from reading about the mission to donating is seamless and accessible on a smaller screen. This includes simple navigation, fast load times, and a donation process that’s quick and painless. If the donation button is easy to find and the form is straightforward, supporters are way more likely to follow through with their contributions. Making it easy for people to support the cause whenever inspiration strikes, no matter where they are.
By designing an experience around visitors’ needs and missions, which revolve around community, engaging in a core mission, donating and supporting a cause, non-profit websites help build lasting relationships and facilitate their offline business goals and objectives.
Is your website in need of an upgrade?
If you would like to talk to us at Hallam about building a website for your non-profit, get in touch with us to see how we can help.