5 Things You Must Do Before Building Your Nonprofit Website
Summary
If you're planning on building a new nonprofit website or you're planning on updating your existing nonprofit website, I have five things I need you to do that will save you thousands of dollars and hours of your time.
In this video, I'll show you:
How to create detailed audience profiles that will guide your entire website strategy
The critical goals and metrics you must set before building to ensure your website actually works
A content planning framework that attracts search engines and converts visitors
How to choose the right website builder that saves you from constant frustration
Why identifying one dedicated website manager is essential for long-term success
"By clearly articulating your goals in terms of tangible outcomes like number of individual donors, number of volunteer signups, number of new clients, or client intake forms submitted... You've got to set these goals before you start, because that will inform how and what you build for your website."
If you want to build a nonprofit website that actually generates donors, volunteers, and clients, you need to stop throwing spaghetti at the wall and start with these five foundational steps.
"So many nonprofits just start creating a website because they got to get donors. They got to get help. They got to get funders. And they don't think about what is this website going to do for my nonprofit?"
In this episode, learn how to properly prepare for your nonprofit website launch or refresh with a proven 5-step framework. Plus, you'll discover why most nonprofit websites fail and how to avoid the common pitfalls that drain your time and budget.
Watch the video to get the full training.
Free Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
What are audience profiles and why are they critical for nonprofit websites?
Audience profiles crystallize all the different people in your audience groups into one clear identity. For example, you might create "Daniel the Donor" - a mid-40s tech worker who cares deeply about salmon restoration and wants clean places for his kids to play. These profiles help you understand the aspirations, desires, and needs of the people you're trying to reach, which directly informs your website's messaging and structure.
How many different audience groups do nonprofits typically need to consider?
Nonprofits typically have at least five different audience groups: donors, volunteers, board members, clients, and the general public/stakeholders. If you're working in environmentally sensitive areas or regulated industries, you may have even more audience groups to consider.
What specific goals and metrics should I set for my nonprofit website?
You should set tangible, measurable goals such as:
Number of individual donors
Number of volunteer signups
Number of new clients or client intake forms submitted
Number of website visitors
Number of email subscribers
These concrete metrics help you understand when your website is performing well and inform what you should build.
What content should I plan before building my nonprofit website?
Think of content as a marketing tool that can attract search engines and users. Consider creating content around:
Frequently asked questions about your cause
Events and activities that engage people in your topic area
Questions and concerns your audience may have
Myths and misconceptions about work in your field. For example, if you support student literacy, you might debunk funding myths about school libraries or address misconceptions about book access.
How important is choosing the right website builder for nonprofits?
Your website builder choice can make or break your web management experience. The right builder makes it easy to manage your website, keep content updated, attract supporters, and present a professional image. The wrong choice becomes a constant source of pain, frustration, and breakdowns - taking time and energy away from your important mission work.
Should I assign website management to a volunteer, intern, or tech-savvy person?
While you can involve interns or volunteers, someone on your staff must be ultimately responsible for the website. Don't just hand it off to someone because they're "techie" or good with social media. Managing a website - one of your most fundamental marketing tools - requires someone who understands your mission's importance and values on a core level.
What happens if I don't have a dedicated website manager?
Without a designated website manager, you'll likely experience the "set it and forget it" mentality that plagues many nonprofits. The website suffers from neglect, and years later you'll wonder why you're not getting donors, volunteers are dwindling, and no one is signing up for your email list. It's easy for responsibility to roll around the office with everyone assuming someone else will handle updates.
How can I use website content to address myths and misconceptions in my field?
Create content that directly addresses common misunderstandings about your cause. For instance, if you work in education, you might address myths about school funding or book access. Explain real challenges like underutilized libraries or how busy parents prevent students from spending time reading, then connect this to how your mission provides solutions.
How often should I update my nonprofit website content?
Regular updates are essential to keep your website effective. Without ongoing management, websites quickly fall into disrepair. Your designated website manager should be responsible for keeping content fresh, posting new blogs, updating events, and ensuring all information aligns with your mission and messaging goals.
Complete Video Transcript
Introduction: Save Thousands of Dollars and Hours Before Building Your Nonprofit Website
If you're planning on building a new nonprofit website or you're planning on updating your existing nonprofit website, I have five things I need you to do that will save you thousands of dollars and hours of your time.
Hey everyone, Ricardo Ibarra here with Market Your Mission. And today I am talking about the five things you must do before you build or refresh your website. So let's jump right into it.
Step 1: Create Detailed Audience Profiles for Your Nonprofit
Number one is create audience profiles. Now this is absolutely critical because your website exists as a communication tool to help you talk with other people. And if you're in the nonprofit space, you've got at least five different audience groups that you need to talk to.
You've got donors, you've got volunteers, you've got your board members, you've got your clients, and you've got the general public and or stakeholders. You may even have more if you're working in an area that is environmentally sensitive or regulated by the government.
Number one, before you start building your website, or if you want to refresh your website, you've got to identify and create audience profiles.
Understanding What Audience Profiles Actually Are
If you've never heard that language before, an audience profile crystallizes all the different people in your audience say, donors, into one identity. So you might call him Daniel the donor, and he may be in his mid 40s. He may work for a tech company. And what's most important about Daniel's audience profile is that you identify what Daniel wants in the world that aligns with your mission.
You may work in an environmental space. You may be supporting clean water, clean streams, rivers in your local community. And so Daniel, his the ideal person that you're trying to reach in your donor group, may care deeply about salmon restoration or having clean places outside for his kids to play. He wants to take his kids inner tubing on the on the lake.
Part of building an audience profile is really diving deep into the aspirations, the desires and the needs of the people that you're trying to influence or reach with your website.
Step 2: Set Clear Goals and Metrics for Website Success
Okay. Number two evaluate or set goals. Yes. So many nonprofits just start creating a website because they got to get donors. They got to get help. They got to get funders. And they don't think about what is this website going to do for my nonprofit?
What are the actual goals and metrics that are going to make it so that I understand when my website's performing well? Otherwise, you're just kind of guessing. You're just kind of throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Define Tangible Outcomes for Your Nonprofit Website
By clearly articulating your goals in terms of tangible outcomes like number of individual donors, number of volunteer signups, number of new clients, or, client intake forms submitted. How about number of website visitors? Number of email subscribers? You get the picture. You've got to set these goals before you start, because that will inform how and what you build for your website.
Step 3: Plan Your Content Strategy to Attract and Engage
Number three review or plan content. Again, so many nonprofits start in and say, okay, well, I've got to build a website. I'll throw up some pages. I'll, hope for the best. That's going to take you a lot longer than if you had thought through what content you want to put on your website.
And of course, if you already have a website, it that's where the review comes in. Okay. Reviewing and planning your content. There are five pages that you must have on your nonprofit website, and I'm going to get into that in another video, so stay tuned for that.
Use Content as a Marketing Tool for Search Engine Optimization
But one of the most important things you can do is think about content as a marketing tool. You know, there are search engines crawling the web. They're looking at websites. So if you have a new website or you're redeveloping your website, think of your content as a way to attract those search engines and of course, the people who are using those search engines.
Think of frequently asked questions that folks might ask about someone who's working in your field or about your cause. Think about, events and activities that you can highlight that will engage someone in the topic area that your cause is serving.
Address Myths and Misconceptions Through Strategic Content
Think about the questions and concerns that they may have, or even the myths and misconceptions they may have about the work in your area. For example, if you are supporting student literacy and you're doing book drives and helping folks, helping kids access afterschool tutoring.
Well, some of the myths and misconceptions might be debunking the funding myth. You know, maybe you maybe some folks think that your schools are as well funded as as they could be and that students have easy access to books. Oh, well, they have a school library.
Well, you can enlighten them with the content on your website by talking about how underutilized the library may be or how busy parents, prevent students from spending as much time reading or getting into the school library as they would like. And so you can align that with how your mission is helping get those books into kids hands.
Step 4: Choose the Right Website Builder for Your Nonprofit
Number four, before you start or before you relaunch, you've got to choose your website builder. I have an entire video coming up on how to choose your website builder. So stay tuned for that. But this is really critical because your website builder can make or break your web management experience.
Why Your Website Builder Choice Matters for Long-Term Success
It can make it really easy for you to manage your website and keep everything up to date and attracting donors, volunteers, clients present a professional image to the community at large, help you get new grants, you name it, or your website builder can be a constant source of pain and frustration and breakdowns.
And let's face it, your cause needs more than that. Your mission deserves a lot more than that. And of course, your staff want to focus their time. If you have staff, you want to focus your time and energy on doing the good work that you're doing in the world, not wrangling with technology. So you must choose a website builder.
Step 5: Identify a Dedicated Website Manager
And finally, you need to identify a website manager. This is the one person keyword, one person on your team who will be responsible for managing and updating your website.
Avoid the "Set It and Forget It" Website Mentality
You know, a lot of nonprofits, even in 2025, still have this kind of set it and forget it mentality when it comes to websites and they get their website up and then they forget about it and they go about doing their work, delivering their programs and services and their website suffers.
And then they start wondering a couple of years down the road, well, how come we're not getting any more donors? How come our volunteer pool is getting thinner and thinner every time? How come there's no one signing up for our email list?
Well, that's because with busy nonprofits, you know this. There's only so many hours in the day. And if you don't have someone who has a clear job role of managing your website, then it's just not going to happen, right?
Why Responsibility Can't Be Left to Chance
It's easy for the buck to roll around the office. Oh, I thought you were going to post that blog. Oh, I thought you did that. I oh, I thought she was going to do this. He was going to do that. Well, that's the fastest way for a website to fall into disrepair. So before you start, involve that person.
Choose Someone Who Understands Your Mission
This could be an opportunity for an intern or a younger person. However, I will caution you against just handing off the website to someone who's techie or tech savvy or knows how to use social media.
It's really important when you're managing a website, which is one of the most fundamental marketing communications tools for your nonprofit. It's really important when you're managing your website that you understand on a core level, the importance and the values that your mission are bringing into the world.
So now, while it might be great to get that young whippersnapper who knows social media or who's built in a website for, you know, a friend or an uncle or something like that to help out, great. But someone on your staff needs to be ultimately responsible for the website to ensure that everything that goes on that website aligns with your mission, the message you're trying to tell, and furthers those goals and objectives.
Recap: The Five Essential Steps for Nonprofit Website Success
So let's review. We've got five different things I absolutely need you to do before you start building a website. Number one is create audience profiles. We talked about how important it is to define the aspirations and the desires of your ideal audience, and how nonprofits have five audiences.
We also talked about identifying your website manager, that one person who's going to take responsibility for your website, choosing your website builder, and how important that is for the ease of use of managing your website and using it as a marketing communications tool rather than something that's going to drain tons and tons of time and energy away from your staff.
We talked about reviewing or planning your content. I give you some ideas on creating content around myths and misconceptions, or frequently asked questions, and using your content as a tool to attract search engines and of course, the people who are using those search engines.
And we talked about evaluating or setting your goals and how important it is to identify real, tangible metrics that identify what is going to indicate that your website is working well and what's going to further your mission.
Thanks so much for tuning in, and I'll see you in the next video.
