Nonprofit websites built for two audiences
A nonprofit website has to convince a donor to give and help someone in need find services, often on the same screen. When those two jobs fight each other, giving drops and the people you serve get lost.
What new nonprofit clients ask us to fix first
The same three problems come up on almost every first call, whether you are a food bank, a youth program, an arts organization, a research foundation, a faith based ministry, an animal rescue, or a membership association.
The donation flow leaks
Give button, then a third party page with different branding, then four screens of fields. Every extra step between intent and receipt costs you gifts, especially on phones.
Program pages written for funders
Eligibility described in grant language, so the family who qualifies cannot tell whether the program is for them. They call the office to ask, or they give up.
Impact is claimed, not shown
A mission statement and a stock photo. Board prospects and grant reviewers want numbers served, audited financials, and a current 990, and they leave when they cannot find them.
What we build for you
The pieces that matter most in this field, in the order they usually matter, whether the work runs on two staff and a volunteer roster or a full development team.
Nonprofit website design
Two paths from the home page, one to give and one to get help, with the donation form kept short and on your own domain wherever the processor allows.
Nonprofit website design: see how it worksAccessibility audits and remediation
Your audience includes people using screen readers, keyboards, and captions. Building to WCAG 2.2 AA means the whole community can read the program page and finish the gift.
Accessibility audits and remediation: see how it worksSearch visibility for your cause
People search for the help before they search for the organization. We build pages that answer 'free legal aid Prince William County' and lead to your intake.
Search visibility for your cause: see how it worksBrand identity for campaigns
One look across the annual appeal, the event page, the emails, and the donation receipt, so a repeat donor recognizes you without reading the logo.
Brand identity for campaigns: see how it worksWebsite care and security
Volunteers turn over, staff time is thin, and nobody on your team should be responsible for patching software. We handle updates, backups, and uptime.
Website care and security: see how it worksThe visits that actually fund the work
Traffic is easy to celebrate and hard to bank. A nonprofit website earns its keep through recurring gifts, qualified volunteers, and clients who reach intake without a phone call.
A lead worth having
- A recurring monthly gift set up on the first visit, from someone who arrived through your annual appeal email.
- A local searcher looking for the exact service you provide, who reaches the intake form and qualifies on eligibility.
- A foundation program officer reading your outcomes page and downloading the audited financials before a grant conversation.
- A volunteer signup from someone in your county who picks a shift, not just a person joining a mailing list.
What a wasted click looks like
- Vendors and consultants using the donate page contact link to pitch software, which pushes real donor questions down the inbox.
- Out of area help requests you have to decline, one at a time, because no page states the counties you cover.
- Event traffic that spikes for a week and never returns, because nothing on the page invites a second visit.
Why nonprofit websites are different
Nonprofits run on trust that has to be visible. Grant reviewers check for a current 990 and real outcome numbers. Boards ask why the donation page looks like a different organization. Staff capacity is the constraint behind all of it, so the heavy lifting stays on our side and your team stays on the mission.
See how a project runs →- Donation flow tested on a phone, start to receipt
- Program eligibility written so a client can self check
- Financials, board list, and 990 easy to find
Common questions
That depends on your processor. Some let the form sit on your domain with only the card step handed off, which keeps the branding steady and cuts abandonment. Others require a redirect. We check what yours supports, then design the handoff so the donor never wonders whether they left the right place.
Almost never. Two websites split your search authority and double the work. One website with two obvious entry points from the home page does the job, as long as the language on each path is written for that reader. Program pages speak plainly about eligibility. Giving pages speak about outcomes and where the money goes.
Because your audience is wider than most. Older donors, people with low vision, people on a slow phone connection, and clients who navigate by keyboard are all part of who you serve.
Our work targets WCAG 2.2 AA across the whole website, so nobody is quietly shut out of a program page or a gift. It is also simply the right thing to do. See our accessibility audits and remediation work.
We do. A website care plan covers hosting, updates, security, speed, and the content changes that come with a campaign or a new program. Your team sends the update, we make it live. Nobody on staff has to learn a content management system to keep the website honest.
Let us look at your donation flow
Send us the link and we will walk the give path and the intake path the way your visitors do, then tell you where people fall off.