It’s important, when designing a website and writing content, that you do so in a way that’s meaningful and useful to your client group.
But what if your site’s visitors are split into groups with distinct and very different needs and different intellectual abilities? How does a single website serve both people with a learning disability, and health and social care professionals? Let’s see how the Mencap website – a design I particularly admire – successfully tackles this.
What should you be reading to help you commission, design and manage a better nonprofit website and offer better services online? Here’s a round-up of publications I think you should take a look at. Most of them are available as free PDFs. There are a few more general nonprofit IT resources in there too.
Web Accessibility Pack for Voluntary and Community Organisations (booklet & CD)Download the Web Accessibility Guide (PDF 1.7 MB)
This booklet from the ICT Hub is a practical introduction to web accessibility and tell you how to make your website accessible at little or no cost. It explains what web accessibility is, the benefits and what the law says, as well as giving guidance for web managers, commissioners, designers and developers.
How to Use New Media Guide and New Media Case StudiesDownload a copy of How to Use New Media (PDF 944 KB)
Download a copy of New Media Case Studies (PDF 701 KB)
The Media Trust published two booklets highlighting how VCOs can make the most of new media technology and giving practical examples of 10 organisations that have done it. I wrote several of the case studies. Read more »
Even running a fairly small website involves a lot of management. Staff members and trustees need to plan the website, communicate back and forth with the web designer, collaborate to create content, set tasks and deadlines and allocate work to volunteers. At every stage documentation can end up duplicated, spread across several peoples’ computers and is never to hand when you need it.
To make managing your website easier, consider using an online project management tool like Basecamp. What can it do? Read more »
In mid-May 2009 an Australian web team took on the CodeBlacks from New Zealand to build a complete website in 24 hours. Two non-profit organisations, one from Australia and one from New Zealand, were selected to receive a complete website at the end of the 24 hours.
Both websites look good, but the New Zealand team won the compo. Read more on the Full Code Press competition website. Looking at their website design for Rainbow Youth there’s only one aspect that I think spoils the look of the site and that iss the charity’s logo, but I don’t suppose there was much the team could do about that! Everything else – the menu, the background images, the social networking section – looks great.
Considering the deadline was so tight it’s impressive to note all the little details – love the rainbow favicon and the appealing donation button – are in place.
Recently I visited Grampians disAbility Advocacy Association and learnt about how the GDAA website was designed for them in last year’s competition.
If you volunteer with a community group or charitable organisation in the UK, visit www.btcommunityconnections.com to apply for a laptop and contribution to a year’s free broadband connection. The closing date for Round One is 9 June 2009 for postal applications and 11 June for online submissions.
I know several organisations that have won a computer in previous years – and I helped a couple of them to make successful applications.
The article Non Profit Website Design: Examples and Best Practices on the Smashing Magazine website is one of the best I’ve seen on how to build your charity’s website following best practice. The examples given are excellent. They don’t just consider the fundraising and campaigning aspects but also give tips on how to make your site journalist and volunteer friendly. Read all the comments too!
The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign’s plan
Built in Drupal with a fun, wonky design, cute imagery and animated cupcakes. Nice use of a hand-drawn typeface and unmissable donation buttons. This is a mini-website devoted to a single initiative and dedicated to getting people to sign up or donate. Check out the rest of the site for more cute animations and simple sign-up forms.
On the UK Circuit Riders website Michael McAndrew has started a list of small and medium-sized UK non-profits using Drupal, Joomla and WordPress. Worth a look if you’re undecided about which CMS to choose and want to see examples of how other nonprofit organisations have used theirs. And if you need advice on choosing a CMS read the article 10 criteria for selecting a CMS on the Boagworld website and the articles in the Managing Content section of the LASA Knowledgebase.
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