Here is the secret key that will help you create a great nonprofit website…
This means that if you want a great nonprofit website…
Your job is to be a curator.
How can you be a website curator?
Keep what matters. Toss the rest.
Fill your website with content that is relevant and compelling. Remove content that is outdated or ineffective or low-quality.
As a curator, you will have your own set of criteria about what makes content relevant or compelling. Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Don’t list all your articles.
List the Ten Best Articles of 2013.
- Don’t list six upcoming events on the homepage.
List the Big Annual Benefit and the event that’s coming up next on your calendar.
- Don’t have a big “Subscribe to our enewsletter” button competing with a big “Donate” button.
Focus on one, easy-to-sell call-to-action. Highlight the enewsletter button… then send timely, compelling fundraising email messages to your subscribers.
- Don’t upload all 50 pictures from the annual conference even though 48 of them feature people sitting in a session.
Choose the three best photos of people having a great time and feature those photos prominently.
What if your colleagues object to this idea of curating your website’s content?
Put your best content at the top.
For example, on the Resources page, choose the ten most relevant or most compelling resources and list them at the top of the page as “Top Resources” or “Most Popular Resources”. Your colleagues can rest easy knowing the long list of resources is still available, just a bit farther down on the page.
(And yes, readers will scroll if they want to see the complete list of resources. Readers do scroll, especially on mobile devices. Have you seen how fast people can swipe with their thumbs!?)
What do you think of this idea?
Tweet me to let me know how you’re using this idea on your own nonprofit’s website.
P.S. You might find it easier to find the highest-quality content on your website when you have the right website analytics dashboard. Download your free Google Analytics dashboard and start using it with your website’s analytics account.
