Written by Anne Stefanyk. Anne is the Founder and CEO of Kanopi Studios, a leading digital agency that designs and builds websites for mission-driven organizations. With deep expertise in strategy, user experience, and open-source technologies, Anne has guided Kanopi to become a trusted partner to nonprofits, higher education, and healthcare institutions.
Since launching Kanopi in 2010, Anne has fostered a people-first culture and a strong commitment to accessible, sustainable web practices. Her team creates inclusive digital experiences that help organizations make meaningful impact.
94% of website users don’t trust a poorly designed or outdated website, demonstrating the necessity of keeping your charity’s site fresh. But updating your organisation’s website may seem overwhelming, with multiple components to optimise. Where should you begin?
Fortunately, simple content adjustments can improve your website’s performance, enhance user experience, and turn more visitors into donors.
This guide explores simple content updates you can implement into your website refresh strategy.
1. Update data and reports.
Data can enhance your website’s storytelling efforts by grounding narratives in facts. However, data points can become outdated quickly, especially if your organisation experiences frequent change.
By updating data and metrics throughout your website, you can automatically make your content more valuable for users and more appealing to search engines like Google that prioritise displaying content with timely, accurate data.
Comb through your site regularly to update data-driven content, such as:
- Data-backed blog posts
- Annual reports
- Charts and graphs on landing pages, such as your online donation form or about page
Run regular reports to freshen up your website with the latest information. For example, run financial reports to update pie charts displaying how much funding goes toward mission-critical programs.
This attention to detail will show your audience you care about transparency and accuracy, making them feel more confident about supporting your charity.
2. Improve your calls to action.
Calls to action (CTAs) are the buttons or images on your website that help users connect more deeply with your organisation’s mission. Many organisations don’t realize that a few quick fixes to their CTAs can dramatically improve their conversion rates, encouraging more passive audience members to become avid supporters.
Let’s take a look at a few CTA best practices and examples from Kanopi’s roundup of the best nonprofit websites:
- Make CTAs punchier with compelling language.
- Example: The Humane League website includes a compelling homepage CTA encouraging visitors to sign petitions, saying, “One minute of your day can change their world. Every signature makes a difference—lend your voice to animals in need.” This language is appealing because it demonstrates how easy it is for donors to make a significant difference.
- Ensure CTAs drive visitors further down the conversion funnel toward donating or taking another action.
- Example: Look at this blog post from The Conservation Fund about threats to wildlife habitats. It’s a short educational post that does not necessarily address fundraising. However, it does direct readers to a page where they can read about the organisation’s efforts to protect wildlife. As a result, visitors can learn more about the charity before they’re ready to donate. This process exemplifies a streamlined approach to driving supporters further down the sales funnel toward making a gift.
- Ensure they stand out on the page to draw users’ attention.
- Example: Check out the Freedom Service Dogs website. The site uses large, bold red buttons to encourage visitors to donate. The buttons are placed strategically, such as in the top-level menu and at the top of the homepage, making them hard to ignore.
Conduct A/B testing on your CTAs using a plugin or module in your content management system (CMS). For example, WordPress is a popular nonprofit CMS that offers multiple user-friendly plugins for optimising content.
Use WordPress plugins like Nelio AB Testing or Split Hero to present online visitors with different versions of CTAs. Monitor which CTAs see the highest click-through rates to determine what resonates most strongly with your audience.
3. Enhance page titles and meta descriptions.
Unique, engaging, and informative meta titles and descriptions help grab readers’ attention when they see your content appear in search results. The right meta title and description can mean the difference between a user clicking through to your website or investigating other search results instead.
Review these simple best practices to make sure your metadata stands out:
- Page titles should be 50-60 characters long, include the main keyword, and entice visitors to read your content.
- Meta descriptions should be 150-160 characters, include the main keyword, and stand out from similar content on other websites.
Use power words and verbs in your titles and meta descriptions to draw users in. For example, a page titled “7 Actionable Ways to Fight Climate Change in Your Community” is more enticing than one titled “How to Fix Climate Change.”
4. Make content more donor-centric.
Your charitable organisation couldn’t continue without dedicated support from your donor community, from first-time peer-to-peer donors to major recurring donors. Engaging donors at all giving levels requires you to create content that focuses on their interests and needs, emphasising their key role in helping your mission succeed.
Use these tips to ensure your content strategy is donor-centric:
- Add explicit audience mentions to content. Your blog posts should immediately state which donor audience they’re addressing and how the content impacts them. For example, a blog post wrapping up your annual fundraising gala could be targeted at major donors.
- Track blog engagement to understand which types of content supporters like the most. Assess blog analytics such as time on page and bounce rate to determine which content appeals to your audience. Focus more upcoming blog posts on topics that inspire supporters.
- Send donor surveys to understand their preferences on a deeper level. Ask questions about the aspects of your mission that interest them the most or what types of content they’d like to see more of on your website.
Supporters are much more likely to engage with your content when you include them in your mission and clarify how much their support matters.
5. Optimise and refresh images.
Outdated images can negatively impact your organisation’s credibility. If you still use photos from the 2010s or earlier, website visitors may think your charity is inactive.
Enhance your website’s visual look by taking these steps to optimise and refresh your images:
- Swap out old images with new ones.
- Compress images for faster load speeds using a tool like TinyPNG.
- Update image branding as needed to align with your current visual look.
Check your image load speeds using a performance tool like PageSpeed Insights. This tool will help you identify images that you can further optimise to decrease page loading times.
6. Use AI to expand your creativity.
One of the most significant changes fundraisers have navigated over the last few years is the rise of AI tools in fundraising. AI can be a potent tool for helping you streamline the content optimisation process. However, it’s undoubtedly difficult to figure out the most effective and responsible ways to incorporate it into your workflow.
Start simple by using AI to support brainstorming and idea generation. You can use tools like ChatGPT to:
- Brainstorm creative new blog post, video, or testimonial ideas.
- Generate and optimise schema for your web pages.
- Develop eye-catching and compelling meta titles and descriptions.
- Review content drafts to help identify additional angles to cover or data to include.
As you experiment with AI solutions, don’t lose the human touch in your content. All content on your website should align with your brand voice and be as authentic as possible. You should also consult with your organisation’s legal team before using any AI tools to align with AI regulations in your area or country.
7. Audit your site’s forms and links.
Regular nonprofit website maintenance is essential to content optimisation. If your site isn’t functioning correctly, it won’t matter how great your content is because no one will be able to interact with it.
Review and enhance your site’s usability by taking these steps:
- Test form functionality by completing website forms yourself and ensuring all questions make sense and forms work smoothly.
- Evaluate form accessibility using manual and automated accessibility tests.
- Scan and fix broken links to support your SEO efforts by making your website easier for search engines to navigate.
To maintain your site’s functionality and accessibility, conduct this audit at least once a month, if not more frequently.
These content fixes will be much more impactful if your organisation implements them frequently, rather than going long stretches without updating your website. Adopting a continuous improvement mindset allows you to make quick fixes before minor issues pile up into larger site-wide problems.
Monitor analytics such as time spent on your website, click-through rates from different sources (like social media or organic search), and conversion rates to evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts and pivot your strategy as needed.