Charity websites are usually made with very modest budgets that are barely enough to cover professional web design costs. The reason for this is because most charities depend on voluntary funding. These funds are carefully distributed to the more important things, leaving almost none for the making of a website.
Important to note here is that the primary goal of any charity event is to raise funds. It needs to attract donors, involve volunteers in the event and eventually help other people, the recipients of the charity funds, to live a better life. In line with this, the website made should be able to communicate this message clearly and effectively to all the parties involved.
So, how does a charity organization get the most out of this almost non-existent budget to make a good website? Below are some of the key areas that should be emphasized when making such a website.
What Makes Good Charity Websites
- User-friendly navigation
A non-profit website should be simple to navigate. This enables the website visitor to navigate easily around the website so that they can be guided through the progress of the charity event. The fact that it is easy to navigate helps the web visitor to get all the necessary information needed to help make the right decision.
- Have a mission
Any charity event has a simple tag line that explains in brief what the charity is all about. This mission statement should be prominently displayed on the website made for the charity. It should be placed where any visitor who comes to the site can learn, in the shortest time possible, what the funds drive and the website is all about.
- Search Engine Positioning
A charity website has to be well-optimized for Google and other search engines. It should be found with ease by search engine robots to get good listings without jeopardizing the capture of online users’ interest. Both off-page and on-page SEO should be optimized for great success.
- Explain how the sponsors will be helping
Your website for charity should let the donors know how you are using their gifts and money to change other people’s lives. Demonstrate transparency and honesty by giving a breakdown of how each coin or gift received will be used.
- Show photos and Videos of charity recipients
Photos and Videos of some of the charity beneficiaries come in handy to prove the legitimacy of the charity drive. When people see a photo of who they will be helping, they will be moved to participate in one way or the other, thus bringing success to the event. They will also be more convinced that you are making a difference in someone’s life with the donations that you receive. Video is the way of the future. It doesn’t need to be fancy, most digital cameras can now take video. As well as using the video clip on your own website, upload it to YouTube and other video sharing sites to gain leverage.
- Have a donate button
As stated earlier in this article, the primary goal of a charity event is to get donations to assist those in problems. Therefore, good charity websites have very prominent donate buttons that any website visitor cannot miss seeing.
Make sure that the donate button has a clear call to action like “donate now” or, “click here to donate”. Also, let the donor know exactly what happens and what is expected of them after they click that button.
- Have a donations thermometer
A donations thermometer shows the fundraising progress at any one given time. This visual representation provides a scale through which the parties involved can measure the success of their efforts and how much more remains to be done.
- Have a donations goal
On the website, make sure to also mention the amount of money you wish to raise to advance the kind of help you plan to your charity recipients. Also, mention the different ways through which people can help besides giving money.
- Blogging section
A philanthropic website is more effective when it can show potential donors what the charity has been up to or the number of activities they are planning to roll out. To keep everyone in the loop, always update the blog section of the site.
- Keep in touch
Finally, the best charity websites are those that capture the personal details of all the parties involved so that they can always stay in touch. This is important in case the charity organizers need to send out any alerts, thank you notes, or other information through email or any other contact information.
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