Why Keeping Your Nonprofit’s Website Current Matters
When you hear about a company, one of the first things you will do is visit its website. For most companies, including nonprofits, a website is the first impression. We all understand the importance of making a good first impression!
Having an up-to-date, accurate, and visually appealing website is especially crucial for making a great impression on your funders, partners, and community members. Let’s dive into this topic more.
Why Website Updates Matter
When funders visit your website, they’re looking for signs of an active, well-run organization. Outdated staff lists, old event announcements, outdated annual reports, or broken links can send the wrong message.
On the other hand, a current, easy-to-navigate site shows that you’re engaged, organized, and moving your mission forward.
Key Areas to Review
There are many pages on a website, but there are some particular pages nonprofits should pay close attention to.
Staff and Leadership Pages: Ensure your team roster accurately reflects the current staff and board members, including updated titles and bios.
Program Details: Verify that program descriptions, timelines, and outcomes are up-to-date and accurately reflect any recent changes.
Impact and Success Stories: Feature your most recent achievements and testimonials to show ongoing results.
Contact Info: Double-check addresses, phone numbers, and key contact emails for accuracy.
Acknowledgments: Update donor, partner, and funder lists — it’s essential to recognize your supporters.
Quick Tips for a Website Audit
Figuring out where to start can be overwhelming when it comes to website audits. Here are a few places to start.
Set a Quarterly Review Schedule: Align your website check-ins with your quarterly reporting or funder meetings.
Create a Simple Checklist: Use it every time to make sure nothing gets missed.
Test Key Features: Donation buttons, program sign-ups, volunteer forms — they all need to work!
View on Mobile: More visitors will find you on their phones — your site should look good and work fast there as well.
Make it a Team Effort: It’s okay to assign one person to make the changes, but encourage your coworkers to notify the responsible person when changes are needed.
Your Website Is Always Working for You
Your nonprofit’s website tells your story every day — even when you’re not in the room. Keeping it accurate and fresh helps you build trust, demonstrate impact, and stay ready for funding opportunities.
