Website Evaluation

Update Regularly – Dynamic content (content that changes often) keeps visitors engaged and lets them know that you are an active organization. Consider adding feeds to your homepage for things that you regularly update like social media accounts or a calendar of events. Even retweets will show up on a Twitter feed! Or, you could create a blog and start writing blog posts regularly. A feed to a monthly blog post can create dynamic content for your website. This way, your homepage will automatically update without your having to manually make changes to it.

Cell Phone Friendly – Many website visitors will arrive at your site while using a cell phone or tablet. It's a good idea to make sure that your visitors are seeing what you want them to see when they get there. Take the time to look at your site on a smart device to make sure there aren’t any surprises. You may even need to create a separate version of your homepage just for smart devices.

Streamlined and Eye-Catching – People's attention is drawn to photos and color accents. They are a good way to engage your site's visitors and keep them interested in learning more about your organization. Providing simple, easy to find information is a great way to keep your site's visitors engaged. If there are additional details that people might be interested in, be sure to make it easy for them to click a link to learn more.

Hold Events – Hosting events is a great way to showcase your organization and educate people on topics that are important to your organization. Even informal events like a coffee hour or a Meet & Greet happy hour give people an opportunity to learn more about your organization and it’s mission.

Display a Calendar – Hopefully we’ve convinced you about the importance of holding events. Displaying those events on a calendar shows site visitors that you are an active organization and helps them learn about what you do. This can positively influence membership if you are an organization that people can join. It can also positively influence fund development if you are an organization that accepts donations.

Add Registration Pages – Allowing people to register for your events makes it more likely that people will attend an event or watch the recording of it, if it is recorded. Event registration is also a great way to capture the email address of someone who is interested in your organization. If you create a registration page with details about the event, this will provide information about your organization to site visitors even if they choose not to register for the event.

Let them Join! Having a membership (a way for people to join your organization) is a great way to keep people engaged with your organization and easily share information with them.

Easy-to-Find “Join” Button – As people explore the information on your website, you want them to easily be able to join your organization no matter what page they are currently browsing. Add a "Join" button to the common content of your website so it is visible on every page. The common content is shown on all of the pages on your website and is usually found in the header, footer, or sidebars.

Benefits of Joining – Create a page on your website that highlights the benefits of joining your organization. This is a good way to influence people to join your organization. It also gives your organization some accountability. What has your organization been doing and what benefits are you providing to your loyal members?

Accept Donations – If your organization is not-for-profit, accepting donations is a great way to meet your bottom line. It can also keep people engaged in your organization and interested in learning more about it.

Easy-to-Find “Donate” Button – Add a "Donate" button to the common content of your website so it is visible on every page. The common content is shown on all of the pages on your website and is usually found in the header, footer, or sidebars. As people explore the information on your website, you want them to easily be able to make a donation to your organization no matter what page they are currently browsing.

Why Donate? You may want to consider adding a page to your website that includes the importance of donations and what your organization can accomplish with additional funds. Providing information to your site's visitors about how your organization spends its money is a good way of sharing the value of a contribution to your organization. People are more likely to make a contribution if they think it has value.

The Latest News – Providing easy access to published newsletters is a good way to engage your site visitors and let them learn about what your organization has been doing. If you publish them regularly, the new publications can be added to your website as dynamic content. If you don’t have a newsletter, you may want to start one!

Your Achievements – Include a page on your website that highlights what your organization has accomplished in the recent past (or even historically). Highlighting your organization's achievements is a great way to teach people about what your organization stands for and can influence them to join or make a donation to your organization.

What’s Important? Highlighting the most important information for your website visitors can help them learn about your organization. It can also help them quickly find the information they came to your site to find, which will keep them from getting discouraged and leaving empty handed. Go through your site page-by-page and pay attention to the most important information on each page. Is it easy to find? Is it highlighted with pictures, color accents, or different fonts?