The Best Nonprofit Websites Do These 5 Things: How to Make Your Website Great
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Lauren Atherton
Has a website refresh been weighing on the back of your mind for months or let’s be honest…years?
For many nonprofits, their website starts out just fine. But over time, it grows piece by piece, page by page until one day, it’s cluttered, confusing, and morphs into a beast that doesn’t really reflect who you are anymore.
And that disconnect could be quietly costing you donations, signups, and opportunities to grow your mission.
In today’s digital-first world, your website is your nonprofit’s virtual home. It’s where people go to learn about your work, decide whether to get involved, and—yes—decide whether or not to give.
When your website is working well:
- ✨ You’re proud to share it with donors, partners, and your community
- 💸 You raise more money online
- 📞 You answer fewer repeat questions because your content is actually easy to find
Take Debbie and Linda from WareHouse of Venice. Before we worked together, their outdated Dreamweaver site left them constantly answering the same questions and sending people to Facebook just to stay updated. After redesigning their website, it became a clear, helpful digital hub—like a great receptionist for their nonprofit. It now handles registrations, shares current info, and makes it easy to give. They’ve even gained three new monthly donors just from the improved user experience.
If you’re wondering what it actually takes to make your nonprofit website great — not just “good enough” — this post is for you.
I’ll walk you through five key strategies the best nonprofit websites have in common, plus how we help small-but-mighty teams implement them inside our Brand Level-Up service.
But first let’s take a look at some inspiration. Here are 10 nonprofit websites (outside of charity:water) that are doing it right:
- Loving Single Black Mothers: https://www.lovingblacksinglemothers.com/
- Camp Cocker Rescue: https://www.campcocker.com/
- THORN: https://www.thorn.org/
- New Story: https://www.newstoryhomes.org/
- Mission Bit: https://missionbit.org/
- League of Women Voters: https://www.lwv.org/
- Weekend Backpacks: https://www.weekendbackpacks.org/
- Poet Lore: https://www.poetlore.com/
- Her Spark: https://www.herspark.org/
- The Adventure Project: https://www.theadventureproject.org/
All of these nonprofits have websites that are clear, engaging, and aligned with their mission, and that’s not by accident.
Behind each one is a thoughtful strategy that puts their audience first, simplifies their message, and creates a focused experience for visitors.
So what exactly are they doing right?
Let’s break down the five things the best nonprofit websites do and how you can apply these strategies to your own site, even with a small team and a tight budget.
1. Know Their Main Audience
The best nonprofit websites aren’t made for everyone—they’re crafted for a specific group of people.
It’s easy to assume your main goal is to get donations. But what if that’s not the most important action someone could take on your site? Depending on your mission, your primary audience might be:
- The people you serve
- Community partners
- Referring agencies
- Volunteers
- Or yes—donors
Knowing who is actually visiting your website helps you write stronger content, choose the right calls to action, and structure your site around your biggest opportunities.
That’s why every client project we take on starts with audience strategy. During your SPARK Strategy Session, we dig deep into your different audience types—not just demographics, but psychographics. What motivates them? What are they looking for when they land on your site?
And you don’t have to guess! The best nonprofit websites use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to get real data on who’s coming and what they’re doing.
2. Have ONE Clear Call to Action
If your website is asking visitors to “donate, volunteer, contact us, subscribe, register, follow us, and attend the event”… it’s probably asking too much.
The best nonprofit websites are focused. They guide visitors toward ONE main action—the one that best supports your mission and meets your audience’s needs.
When we work with clients inside the Brand Level-Up, we identify that primary call to action early. It might be:
- “Sign up” or “Register” if you’re speaking to the people you serve
- “Contact us” or “Work with us” if you’re focused on community partners
- “Donate” if you’re talking directly to your supporters
We don’t even touch design until this goal is clear because every part of your site should support this one main action.
3. Show Their Work & Results
The best nonprofit websites don’t just explain their mission – they prove their impact.
Your homepage should feel like a warm, clear conversation with someone who’s never heard of your nonprofit before. Keep the language simple (4th–6th grade level), the tone inviting, and the message focused.
Here’s a format we recommend for your homepage:
Problem → Solution → Impact → Results → Invitation
If you browse the 10 example websites listed above, you’ll notice they all show how their work creates change. They make it easy to understand their process and display 3–4 key stats about their impact. That alone builds trust.
Not sure what results you should be showing? Especially if your work feels hard to quantify? You’re not alone. But trust me—there are ways to measure more than just “people served.” Think satisfaction, confidence gained, time saved, improved outcomes. These are results, too.
We explore what results are most meaningful for your organization to measure in the SPARK Strategy Call. Then in Phase 3 of the Brand Level-Up, we help you build a homepage that tells that story in a clear, strategic way even if your work is complex (more on that later!)
4. Keep Their Navigation Simple
Website visitors are scanning, not reading.
When someone lands on your homepage, their eyes naturally follow a Z pattern across the screen: Top left → Top right → Diagonal down to bottom left → Bottom right.
That means your navigation bar is prime real estate. And the best nonprofit websites use it wisely.
Stick to 5 main menu items or fewer, plus one standout button for your main CTA. This keeps your site clean, easy to navigate, and builds trust by showing your organization is focused and organized.
When we design websites, we make sure the user journey is intuitive, streamlined, and goal-oriented—so visitors aren’t confused or distracted.
Here’s the menu structure we recommend:
- Our Work – Detail your programs and how you do what you do
- Our Impact – Showcase your results, milestones, and what’s changing because of your work
- About Us – Share your founding story, team, board, and leadership
- Get Involved – Highlight ways to take action: volunteer, attend an event, join your monthly donor circle
- Donate (or whatever your main call-to-action is)
Of course, these don’t all have to be single pages. You can create folders with multiple sub-pages. But having just these five in your top-level menu gives visitors a clear path to exactly what they’re looking for.
It’s a small change that makes a huge difference in how people experience your site (and see your org as more organized!)
5. Focus on Function Over Fancy
You don’t need scrolling effects, video backgrounds, or fancy animations. In fact, too many “cool” features can slow down your site, confuse visitors, or distract from your message.
The best nonprofit websites prioritize function over flash by focusing on:
- Real photos of real people (ditch the generic handshakes and stock imagery!)
- Clean, branded design that feels consistent and reflects your organization’s personality
- A clear focus for each homepage section – there’s a natural flow to the content, and intentional visual space between topics so nothing feels cluttered or overwhelming
Your website is often someone’s first impression of your nonprofit. And just like in real life, that first impression should be warm, welcoming, and easy to navigate – not flashy or overwhelming.
That’s why we don’t start with design. Inside the Brand Level-Up, we begin by building your brand foundation — your logo, fonts, colors, core story, and marketing templates — so when it’s time to build your site, everything feels aligned.
You won’t just have a beautiful website. You’ll have one that works because it reflects your brand, supports your goals, and helps people take meaningful action.
“But Lauren… our mission is complicated. How do we simplify it without losing the meaning?”
Yes, your mission is complex. But the way you talk about it on your website should be simple.
Because most people visiting your site don’t know what you know. And if you lead with jargon, insider language, or too much nuance right away, they’ll zone out…even if they’re a perfect fit for your mission!
Here’s a little bit of tough love: you and your team are so close to the day-to-day that it’s hard to see what actually needs to be said (and what can be left out). That’s where an outside perspective can make all the difference.
At HeartSpark, we help you simplify without watering things down. Using our SPARK strategy—Story, Personality, Audience(s), Research, and Key Priorities—we help shape your core messaging in a way that’s grounded in the nuances of your mission.
Because here’s the secret: The brand personality that fits YOUR nonprofit best is also the one your ideal donors connect with most.
Let me explain…
If your brand has a Sage personality we can lean into data, insights and details because that’s what people expect a Sage to act. You know all of the numbers and can simplify complex ideas!
If your brand is a Companion, we’ll lead with warmth, emotion, and real-life stories because that’s what people in your community value most! Numbers are nice, but they’re secondary to those warm and fuzzy feels.
You’re probably already communicating this way naturally—we just help you translate it clearly online, so your message lands with the right people.
Here’s what to focus on for a website that works:
- Know who you’re talking to so your message feels personal and clear
- Have one clear call to action so your site has direction and purpose
- Show your work and results to build trust with visitors
- Keep your navigation simple so people find what they need fast
- Focus on function over fancy so your content and brand shine
When you apply these strategies, your website becomes more than just an online presence.
It becomes a powerful tool for connection, clarity, and growth. And leaves a memorable first impression with your audiences.
You’ll spend less time answering the same questions and more time seeing real engagement.
And most importantly: You’ll feel proud to share your website, knowing it reflects the heart of your mission.
The easiest way to start aligning your brand and building a website that actually works is to find out what brand personality fits your nonprofit best.
Take the free Brand Personality Quiz to discover which of the 12 types best fits your nonprofit.
In just 5 minutes you’ll have fresh insights on how to show up online in a way that connects with the right donors, partners, and community members.
