Rules for Great Websites

The following post is by  Katya Andresen and originally appeared on her blog, Katya’s Non-profit Marketing Blog. In addition to blogging, she works as the Chief Strategy Officer for Network for Good, a Convio partner.

A couple of days ago, I joined Mark Rovner and Alia McKee in a Network for Good speed consulting round on the good, the bad and the basics of nonprofit websites.  Since I get so many questions about websites, I wanted to share the key takeaways.  You can access the whole session (for free) here.

The key rules:

1. Don’t make people think at all when they come to your site.  Strive for simplicity and clarity. There should be no hard work to grasp who you are, what you do and why it matters—or how to help.
2. Don’t post anything just to make your colleague happy. This is about the people who come to your site.
3. Images are critical.  Make them personal and relatable. Don’t post a photo a 10 year old can’t explain to you without reading the caption.
4. Be interesting. The work of good causes is fundamentally emotional, and you want to leave a big impression that inspires.

So what are some good websites? Mark, Alia and I like these.

Here are tips for sites we reviewed: how to make your site better.

Want more information?  Check out the Online Fundraiser’s Checklist 2.0 for great website tips.

In addition to the resources provided by Katya, the following Connection Café posts can help you build a great website for your organization.

• Tell Me a Story
• Inventory, Assess, Repeat
• Spring Cleaning Your Website

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