Many nonprofits accidentally hurt their own success with web design mistakes that lower donations, reduce engagement and damage credibility.

If you’re investing time and money into your nonprofit’s online presence, you need to get it right. Here are the 11 most common nonprofit web design mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Not Starting with Deep Research

The first step – before you do anything else – should be to research other nonprofit websites, find out which ones are considered “high-end”, and take note of what they’re doing effectively. This educational step is key and will set your project up for success. Check out this list of award-winning nonprofit websites for inspiration to kickstart your project.

You should also search for similar nonprofits (related to your specific nonprofit sector) to identify highly relevant trends and best practices.

2. Burying Your Donation Button

This is a key mistake in nonprofit website design. Your donate button should be easy to find in your navigation bar and visible on every page. Many nonprofit websites hide donation options in dropdown menus or place them only on certain pages.

Make your donation call-to-action stand out with contrasting colors and clear language. Phrases like “Donate Now” or “Give Today” work better than vague options like “Support Us” or “Get Involved”.

3. Failing to Communicate Impact Immediately

Visitors to your nonprofit website need to quickly understand what you do and why it matters when they land on your homepage. A common mistake is to lead with your organizational history or mission statement instead of the real-world impact you create.

Instead of saying “Founded in 1987, we strive to empower communities through sustainable development initiatives” try “We’ve provided clean water to 50,000 families in rural communities.” Show the tangible difference you make.

4. Using Stock Photos Instead of Authentic Images

Nothing screams “generic nonprofit” louder than a homepage filled with tacky stock photos. Those perfectly diverse groups of volunteers with unrealistic smiles don’t build trust. They destroy it.

Invest in real photography of your programs, events, and the communities you serve. Authentic images of real beneficiaries, volunteers and staff create emotional connections that drive donations and engagement much more effectively than any stock photo library.

5. Neglecting Mobile Optimization

The majority of nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile devices. But many organizations treat mobile design as an afterthought. If your donation process requires excessive zooming, your forms don’t work well on phones, or your navigation is clunky on tablets, you’re losing donors.

Test your entire website on multiple devices. Your mobile site should be just as functional and appealing as your desktop version (if not more).

6. Creating a Confusing Navigation Structure

Nonprofit websites often grow over time, leading to cluttered navigation menus with unclear categories. When visitors can’t quickly find what they need, they leave.

Simplify your navigation to core categories that matter to your audience. Most nonprofit websites should include: About, Programs/Impact, Get Involved (with clear paths to donate and volunteer), News/Blog, and Contact. More than seven main navigation items is probably too many.

7. Writing Insider Language and Jargon

Your staff and board members might understand phrases like “capacity building,” “stakeholder engagement,” or “community-based research,” but your average website visitor doesn’t and won’t bother trying to decode it.

Use plain language that anyone can understand. Explain what you do in concrete terms that a middle schooler could grasp. Your mission is too important to hide behind jargon.

8. Ignoring Website Speed and Performance

A slow-loading nonprofit website costs you donations. Studies show that a significant portion of mobile users leave sites that take longer than three seconds to load. Unoptimized images, too many plugins, and poor hosting choices can all slow down your website.

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to find performance issues. Compress images before uploading, choose quality hosting and regularly check your site for elements that slow it down. Speed is important for both user experience and search engine rankings.

9. Overlooking Accessibility

Making your nonprofit website accessible to people with disabilities isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s often legally required. Common accessibility mistakes include missing alt text for images, poor color contrast, no keyboard navigation, and videos without captions.

Basic accessibility improvements help everyone. Descriptive alt text helps everyone (including search engines) understand your images, good color contrast makes text easier to read for all users, and proper ARIA labels enable screen readers to work correctly. Aim for WCAG 2.2 AA compliance.

10. Neglecting Your Donor Thank You Experience

The donation process shouldn’t end when someone completes their gift. Many nonprofits make the mistake of providing generic, impersonal thank-you pages or confirmation emails that waste an important engagement opportunity.

Create a warm, specific thank-you page that highlights the impact of the donation. Include social sharing buttons so new donors can tell their networks. Send personalized followup emails that make donors feel valued – not just like a transaction in your database.

11. Letting Content Go Stale

Few things undermine nonprofit credibility faster than outdated content. If your latest news post is from 2022, your event calendar only lists past events, or your homepage still only references last year’s campaign, visitors will question whether your organization is even active.

Commit to regular content updates, even if it’s just monthly blog posts or quarterly program summaries. If you can’t maintain a blog, consider removing it instead of leaving it inactive.

Fresh content shows that your organization is alive and can improve your SEO visibility as well.

Your Nonprofit Website Deserves Better

Avoiding these nonprofit web design mistakes takes consistent effort. Your website isn’t a “set it and forget it” asset. Regular checks, user testing, and updates keep your site serving your mission effectively.

Your nonprofit deserves a website that inspires action, builds trust and drives meaningful results. By addressing these common issues, you’ll create an online presence that genuinely supports your organization’s goals and increases your impact in the communities you serve!