The Complete Cause Driven Website

A practical guide

What makes a good nonprofit website?

A good nonprofit website does three things: it tells people who you are and why you matter, it makes it easy for them to take action, and it works for everyone regardless of how they access it. Everything else is detail.

Your website is probably the first thing a potential donor, volunteer, or partner sees. It’s also the thing your existing supporters return to when they want to give, learn, or share. If it’s slow, confusing, or out of date, that costs you — in credibility, in conversions, and in the time your team spends working around its limitations.

This guide covers the six things that make up a strong cause-driven website: strategy, user experience, technology, content, interface, and growth. We first wrote it in 2017; the fundamentals still hold, but the tools, platforms, and expectations have changed significantly.

Does your website need a strategy?

Article 1 • 4 min read • 31 MAR 2026

Yes — and it doesn't need to be complicated. A website without a strategy is a collection of pages. A website with a strategy is a tool that serves your mission.

What does good user experience look like?

Article 2 • 21 MAY 2026

Good UX means people can find what they need and do what they came to do without friction. For a nonprofit, that usually means donating, signing up, finding information, or accessing services — and all of those need to work in as few steps as possible.

How should you choose your technology?

Article 3 • 21 MAY 2026

Your CMS (content management system) is the platform your website runs on. The right choice depends on your team's technical confidence, your budget, and what you need the site to do. There's no single right answer, but there are some clear front-runners for nonprofits.

What content does your website actually need?

Article 4 • 21 MAY 2026

Your website content has two jobs: help visitors find what they need, and persuade them to take action. Every page should do at least one of those things. If a page does neither, question whether it belongs.

What makes a good nonprofit website interface?

Article 5 • 21 MAY 2026

Your interface is how your website looks, feels, and behaves. It should embody your brand, support your strategy, and help users achieve their goals with minimum friction.

How do you keep your website growing?

Article 6 • 21 MAY 2026

Launching a website is the beginning, not the end. The organisations that get the most from their websites are the ones that treat them as living tools — reviewing, updating, and improving based on what they learn.

WordPress (wordpress.org) — the most widely used CMS. Free software; hosting costs vary.
Google Analytics 4 (analytics.google.com) — free website analytics. Essential for understanding visitor behaviour.
Google Search Console (search.google.com/search-console) — shows how your site appears in search results and flags technical issues.
Google PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev) — test your site speed and get specific improvement recommendations.
WAVE (wave.webaim.org) — free accessibility testing tool. Run it on your key pages.
WebAIM Contrast Checker (webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker) — check your brand colours meet accessibility standards.
Yoast SEO (yoast.com) — WordPress plugin that helps with on-page SEO basics.

If you’re planning a new website or trying to get more from your existing one, we’d love to help. Website strategy, design, and development for nonprofits and purpose-driven organisations is at the core of what we do. Get in touch.