Making a "Cool" Nonprofit Website 💻

🚀 Three Design Rules for Nonprofits to Make New Websites

My organization often helps nonprofits who want their 🌐 websites to look "cool". When I ask what popular brand they want to be like, they usually say Apple.

Visiting the Apple Store is a great "cool experience." It also shows why most nonprofit websites are not cool and won't be cool unless they use a different way of thinking.

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Table of Contents

• 🏪 Think of Your Website as Your Store

• 🌟 What Makes an Apple Store Different and Cool?

  • 1. Let Customers Try The Product

  • 2. Aim at One to Reach Many

  • 3. Customize Your Follow-Up

• 🤝 Let's Connect!

🏪 Think of Your Website as Your Store

Most nonprofit websites are like Target stores. They try to meet the needs of many people all at once. This means they are well-organized, clean, and uncluttered, but not particularly exciting. The main goal is to help visitors find what they need quickly.

Nonprofits often have a long list of things they want their websites to do, such as:

• Raise money 💰

• Look good to foundations 💼

• Show program offerings 🗓️

• Inform supporters and advocates ℹ️

🌟 What Makes an Apple Store Different and Cool?

What makes an Apple Store so different and cool? Yes, they have great products. But many companies make great products without having the cool feeling of an Apple Store. Apple made choices about what their stores would be – and just as important, what they would not be.

Here are three design choices Apple made, and how nonprofits can learn from them:

1. Let Customers Try The Product

Apple Stores have tables of laptops and phones right at the front. What's "cool"? Getting people to try your product. What's "boring"? Focus on getting people to buy your product.

Nonprofits think of their site as a place to get people to "buy" – by donating, signing up, or valuing the organization. Only a few nonprofit sites let people "try."

✨ Example: One of my clients runs an educational enrichment program for at-risk youth and uses poetry as a key pedagogical tool. My suggestion was to hold an online poetry contest and let viewers cast votes. Another nonprofit advances nutritional health among young mothers. Why not post a weekly challenge where viewers create recipes that meet a nutritional goal while staying within a certain budget?

2. Aim at One to Reach Many

Apple Stores have mass appeal, but target a narrow group: affluent, educated trendsetters. Apple knows that if it wins over that small group, it will appeal to a broader group, too.

✨ Example: I worked with a youth mentoring non-profit in Los Angeles. They connected professionals from companies like Sony and Disney with at-risk youth. They initially wanted a website that had sections for many different groups, like individual donors, the community, foundations, and the government. Instead, I suggested they highlight their success with these corporate partners. This would attract other audiences too.

3. Customize Your Follow-Up

One of the most important design principles of the Apple Store is how the space is saturated with staff. If you’ve got a question, a live human being is only a few feet away, and that person is trained to provide immediate, friendly help. In this day and age of abysmal customer service, that’s very cool.

✨ In the same way, a nonprofit’s website needs an effective follow-up strategy. What can visitors do after they visit your site? Are there more engaging actions than just “Liking” a Facebook post or signing up for a newsletter?

✨ Example: If someone signs up for your newsletter, do they just become another name in your database with no further contact? Think of it like Apple’s Genius Bar – do you have a dedicated space on your website for personalized follow-ups and engagement?

📢 Underrepresented Online? That Ends Today!

Your life-changing work deserves to inspire just as many people online as it does in person. The impact you make daily is extraordinary - doesn't your digital presence deserve to match that greatness? Let's change that.

We help you build an online experience that reflects your nonprofit's transformative efforts. No more getting lost in the digital noise. Our integrated digital approach - audience growth via the Google Ad Grants campaign, a purposefully designed website spotlighting your impact with authenticity, and consistent personalized email journeys – allows your nonprofit's story and calls-to-action to resonate truly and fosters a growing base of advocates.

🤝 Let's Connect!

Are you going to use these principles to revamp your website? I'd love to hear about it. If you're considering possibilities but unsure how or when to start, reach out so we can discuss focusing your explorations on design principles that will make your nonprofit shine.

With gratitude,
Kajal
Editor / NgoHacks
Quokka For good LLC

🔗 Let's Connect on LinkedIn!

I may not share frequently on LinkedIn, but I would love to connect with you there and learn more about the amazing work your nonprofit is doing. Feel free to send me a connection request on LinkedIn.