Website Planning

What makes a good charity website?

Posted: 15 March 2025 by: Leeroy Lugg. Facebook / WhatsApp / Bluesky / Mail

give or take.

Visitors want to understand your mission

Your charity’s website should immediately tell your visitors what your charity does and why you do it. Place your mission statement and goals at the top of your 'home' or 'about' page. Keep your message simple, direct, and inspiring.

Invest in high quality images and photographs

Use high-quality images, graphics and videos to help tell stories and connect with your visitors emotionally. Your charity visuals need to make an impact - be mindful of low quality images, they will devalue your website and dilute your message. Avoid unauthentic looking stock images, and if possible use your own photographs.

Keep navigation simple

A user-friendly website makes life so much easier, it speeds up navigation and helps your visitors find what they are looking for. In summary, keep the menu accessible and intuitive with clear calls-to-action.

Develop for all devices

Your charity website should work seamlessly across multiple device types, i.e. phones, tablets, and desktops. Responsive design ensures a smooth experience for everyone.

Make donating easy

Use compelling, emotive language and encourage donations by placing clear, visible donation buttons throughout your site. Offer multiple ways to give and be transparent about how contributions are used. Not everyone will want to donate online, so include offline options too.

Be transparent and make a connection

Don't hide your charity's financial information, share it, and if you ask for donations explain how they will help and make a difference.

Showcase positive stories

Demonstrate the impact of your work through real-life stories and testimonials. Use photos, videos, and even audio to bring these stories to life.

Keep the content fresh

Make sure your CMS is easy to use and regularly update your website with news, blog posts, and other relevant content. An active, up-to-date website shows your charity is engaged and endeavouring to make a difference. If you don't think you have the resources to manage news or blogs - drop the idea, there's nothing worse than reading old news.

Don't forget the role of Social Media

Make it easy for visitors to share your content by integrating social media sharing buttons. Posts with images perform better, so ensure your CMS is set up to include compelling visuals.

Don’t hide your contact page

Make sure that your contact details are easy to find. Include a primary contact email address, your phone number, and perhaps include a simple, secure contact form. Adding contact details to the footer of every page will make it even easier to find.

Think about security

Use SSL encryption and clearly display a privacy statement. Make sure you understand GDPR regulations when handling user data. Finally, don't forget to keep your CMS up to date date, an old CMS may present various security issues.

Accessibility!

This one is very important. Your website should be usable by everyone, including those with disabilities. Use alt text for images, keyboard commands, legible, readable fonts, and follow accessibility best practices. Avoid relying on accessibility overlay widgets, they often cause more harm than good.

Offer a newsletter

Keep supporters of your charity informed by offering an easy way to sign up for updates. Make sure your email system can handle growth as your supporter base expands. Check out MailChimp or Brevo.

Use clear 'Calls to Action' (CTA)

Every page should guide visitors toward the next step, whether it's donating, signing up, or getting involved. Don’t leave them scratching their head, thinking 'what do I do next', write page content that makes things obvious!

Maintenance and back ups

To keep your website running smoothly, ensure that regular maintenance takes place. Ask your web developer about support plans, security patches, and monthly backups of your site.

A final thought

Make sure that your charity website is maintained, is easy to use, and visually engaging. Clearly state your vision and mission and don't let your site get stale, keep it fresh and up to date.