What Should a Nonprofit Website Include? 9 Must-Have Features

Your Nonprofit Website May Be Holding You Back

87% of donors say that a nonprofit’s website is the most influential factor in their decision to donate. Yet nonprofit websites struggle to actively drive engagement, donations, and advocacy. Why? The organizations struggle with

• Hard-to-update platforms that require a developer for minor changes
• Inconsistent branding that confuses visitors instead of building trust,and
• Poor user experience which causes potential supporters to leave before taking action.

Many nonprofit websites fail to meet digital expectations, leading to missed opportunities for fundraising and engagement. 

The solution? A website built on strategy, strong brand clarity, accessibility, and a thoughtful user experience. With the right features and strategies, your website can become a 24/7 fundraising and advocacy machine. This guide breaks down:

• Essential nonprofit website features that improve engagement and conversions
• Actionable takeaways on how to integrate them seamlessly
• Real-world nonprofit case studies proving these tactics work
• Emerging trends that future-proof your digital strategy

The Role of a Nonprofit Website in Mission Success

A website is the central hub of all marketing, outreach, and fundraising efforts. Every visitor represents an opportunity, whether it be a donor, volunteer, or advocate.

Here’s where many nonprofits miss the mark: features are often treated as technical add-ons rather than tools strategically tied to key marketing goals like boosting donations, increasing newsletter sign-ups, or enhancing engagement.

Let’s fix that. The right website features directly contribute to mission success by focusing on three essential pillars:

1. Boost Donor Engagement & Trust

Trust isn’t a given, it’s earned. With public confidence in NGOs and institutions declining, your nonprofit website must do more than inform, it has to reassure. If your platform doesn’t immediately convey credibility and purpose, potential supporters will click away, and likely not return.

This is where design meets mission. Impact storytelling, real-time donation updates, and visible social proof are essential trust signals that help build lasting relationships with your audience.

Why it matters:

• Builds credibility through transparency and professionalism.
• Converts visitors into donors with clear, persuasive CTAs.
• Keeps donors engaged with personalized content and updates.

2. Simplify Content Management

Too many nonprofits are stuck with clunky, monolithic systems that require dev tickets for everything from changing a headline to launching a campaign. That’s frustrating, and a blocker to impact.

Composable DXPs are an alternative as they are modular, flexible, and built for agility. These platforms are like digital LEGO sets: you stack only what you need, skip the bloat, and empower your team to move fast without relying on IT to hold the keys.

Why it matters:

• Speed to launch. Roll out donation pages, landing pages, or event updates in minutes, not weeks.
• No more gatekeeping. Your content, your team, your timeline.
• Stay relevant. Fresh content keeps your mission top of mind and your audience engaged.

3. Align Branding & Accessibility Standards

Inconsistent branding confuses visitors. Accessibility oversights exclude potential supporters. Features like global style guides, accessible navigation, alt text automation, and WCAG compliance checks ensure your website reflects your nonprofit’s identity while being inclusive to all.

Why it matters:

• Reinforces brand trust and recognition.
• Expands reach to supporters of all abilities.
• Meets legal and ethical standards without sacrificing design.

Every feature on your nonprofit’s website should serve a purpose: increasing engagement, simplifying internal processes, and removing barriers to action. 

Check our blog on nonprofit website redesign guide to learn more. 

Case Study: Muscular Dystrophy Family Foundation (MDFF)

The Muscular Dystrophy Family Foundation recognized the need to revamp its website to better serve its audience and support its mission. By partnering with TBH Creative, MDFF implemented several key improvements.

• Enhanced User Engagement: The redesigned website featured a strategic reorganization of information, making it easier for users to find what they need. This approach included more content that tells the story of how MDFF improves the lives of people living with neuromuscular diseases.​
• Improved Accessibility and Branding: Upgrades to the website design incorporated more engaging visual elements and tweaks to improve ADA compliance, ensuring the site was accessible to a broader audience and reflected MDFF’s branding consistently.​

Essential Features Every Nonprofit Website Needs

Below is your nonprofit website checklist, broken down into core functionalities, engagement tools, and content essentials, each mapped to specific pain points and measurable marketing goals. Plus, we’ve provided a downloadable checklist to make it even easier:

Want to make your nonprofit’s website work for your mission? Let’s chat about how we can help. Schedule a time with our team.

Core Functionalities

1. Mobile Responsiveness

Mobile users represent 52% of all visits to nonprofit websites. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing traffic and you’re turning away committed, action-ready supporters.

Mobile is the primary device via which people engage with causes today. From jumping into issue-based threads to signing petitions, joining events, and donating, all of it happens in real time, on the go. When someone discovers your campaign on social media or hears about your work in a group chat, they’re likely tapping through on their phone.

This is what makes mobile responsiveness not just a design concern, but a mission-critical feature. Your mobile users are often mid-action, they’re fired up, looking to give, share, or support. If your site lags, crashes, or buries the donate button? That momentum is gone.

Why it matters:

• Converts high-intent, on-the-go users at their moment of action
• Increases donations by reducing mobile friction
• Ensures accessibility and equity, mobile is the only point of access for many users

In short, if your mobile experience isn’t fast, easy, and inspiring action, it’s costing you users and it’s costing you impact.

“Mobile-first design isn’t about shrinking content to fit on a screen, it’s about respecting your user’s time and intent. Imagine a donor on a lunch break who wants to give. If they face a clunky donation form or slow loading page, that donation opportunity disappears in seconds. Prioritize their journey, not just your aesthetic.” — Javan, Fifty & Fifty

Steps for Action:

• Design for mobile first, not as an afterthought: Audit your current site, how many clicks does it take to donate via mobile?
• Eliminate unnecessary content on mobile views: Strip away clutter, highlight CTAs (donate, volunteer, subscribe).
• Implement lightning-fast loading speeds (under 3 seconds): Compress images, leverage browser caching.
• Test every page on real devices weekly: Use analytics to identify top-performing mobile devices and optimize accordingly.
• Ensure donations are tap-to-give friendly: Integrate Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, with one-click recurring gift options.

Case Study

Fifty & Fifty collaborated with Blue Planet Foundation to revitalize their digital presence by developing a mobile-first website aimed at broadening their audience reach.

Project Objectives:

• Enhance Accessibility: Ensure the website is easily accessible across various devices, particularly mobile phones and tablets.​
• Engage a Broader Audience: Present information in a manner that resonates with a diverse user base, fostering greater community engagement.​

Key Features Implemented:

• Responsive Design: The website was built with a responsive design, allowing seamless adaptation to different screen sizes and orientations.​
• Optimized Navigation: Simplified menus and intuitive navigation paths were incorporated to improve user experience on mobile devices.​
• Fast Loading Speeds: Efforts were made to ensure quick load times, crucial for retaining mobile users who may have limited bandwidth.​

Download the Essential Nonprofit Website Checklist

2. Strong Accessibility Compliance (ADA/WCAG)

Accessibility often gets treated like a compliance checkbox. That’s a mistake. For nonprofits, it’s a strategic differentiator.

97% of home pages are not fully accessible to users with disabilities. Ignoring accessibility excludes a big chunk of potential donors and volunteers. It also contradicts an organization’s core values of inclusion and community service. Moreover, Google’s algorithm prioritizes accessible websites.

Every pixel on your nonprofit website should reflect equity. Accessibility is also a branding move, showing your supporters you care about everyone, regardless of ability, builds long-term trust.

Steps for Action:

• Perform quarterly WCAG audits: using tools like WAVE or Axe to catch issues early.
• Design with high-contrast colors & scalable fonts: beneficial for everyone, not just users with disabilities.
• Add descriptive alt text, closed captions, and readable link text: SEO loves it, users need it.
• Make donation forms accessible: remove CAPTCHA, simplify fields, ensure keyboard navigation.
• Assign an internal accessibility champion: train staff regularly, so accessibility is owned.

Case Study

Save the Children prioritizes web accessibility to ensure everyone, regardless of ability, can easily navigate and engage with their site. The website has been designed to adhere to best practices by following W3C standards. Pages have been built to comply with a minimum standard of WCAG 2.0 single ‘A’ guidelines, with efforts to extend this to ‘AA’ and ‘AAA’ compliance.

By following inclusive design principles and web accessibility standards, they offer features like alt text for images, clear headings, intuitive navigation, and support for assistive technologies, making their digital experience accessible to all.

Use your commitment to accessibility as part of your brand story. Share it transparently,  highlight accessibility updates, invite feedback, publish an annual accessibility report. Turn compliance into community engagement.

3. Easy-to-Use CMS for Managing Updates

Too often, nonprofits are stuck with clunky backends or custom-coded CMS platforms that require a developer for even basic edits. Want to launch a campaign, change a homepage banner, or highlight a donor story? You’re stuck waiting. And that delay isn’t just inconvenient, it’s costly.

But here’s the larger issue, your website reflects your storytelling. If your CMS limits how often and easily you can tell stories, it has to be fixed. For every initiative, agility wins. A modern, intuitive CMS should empower your team to publish content fast, without needing to file support tickets or rewrite code. When you can’t tell your story in real time, you lose SEO traction, donor visibility, and supporter momentum.

Your CMS should empower, not restrict. We often underestimate the value of up to date, google doesn’t. Supporters don’t. The organizations that succeed in donor retention and advocacy campaigns are those who can pivot fast, publish often, and stay visible.

Steps for Action:

• Adopt intuitive CMS platforms tailored for nonprofits: WordPress (with user roles), Webflow (for visual editing), or Squarespace (simple drag-and-drop).
• Set up templated, modular content blocks like event pages, donation forms, testimonials—that non-technical staff can update without needing a developer.
• Train cross-departmental staff on the CMS and empower communications, programs, and fundraising teams to own their content.
• Automate dynamic content updates, impact stats, event dates, donor acknowledgments can be populated from integrated CRMs or databases.

Case Study

The American Red Cross has implemented user-friendly systems to maintain the relevance and freshness of their content, thereby enhancing engagement with donors and volunteers. One notable initiative is their collaboration with 3 Sided Cube to develop an emergency preparedness platform. This platform features an intuitive content management system (CMS) that requires minimal training, allowing the Red Cross to efficiently update and manage content. The stability and reliability of the app ensure that it requires little support, enabling the organization to promptly provide users with critical information during natural disasters. ​

4. Donation Forms with Custom Options

A nonprofit’s donation page should never feel like a task for the donor. But many organizations overload forms with unnecessary fields, complex navigation, or lack clear donation tiers. Result? High abandonment rates. 

The average gift made on desktop devices is $137; for mobile users, the average gift is $83. And in an era where attention spans are shrinking and urgency drives action, your donation process needs to match the best of e-commerce, clear, fast, and emotionally compelling.

Donating is more than a transaction for your donors. It’s a moment of alignment between your mission and a supporter’s values. That moment should be seamless, not filled with digital potholes. When someone is inspired to give, you have seconds to guide them from intent to impact. Every extra click, confusing option, or unclear value proposition risks breaking that emotional thread.

Steps for Action:

• Auto-fill donor details for returning supporters: reduce friction.
• Support all payment methods (Apple Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, Venmo) and one-click recurring options.
• Use dynamic donation messaging tied to real-world outcomes—e.g., “$25 = winter coat for 1 child.”
• Test & iterate: A/B test form lengths, button copy, and progress indicators to reduce abandonment.
• Offer tribute/matching gift options, double the incentive.

Case Study

For TUMO Armenia, Fifty & Fifty developed a targeted fundraising campaign to help reach a $10 million fundraising goal. The strategy focused on clear, compelling donation CTAs combined with optimized forms, allowing donors, whether individuals or corporate sponsors, to contribute effortlessly. The campaign mobilized a wide donor base and significantly advanced their goal.

Stop thinking of donation forms as static. Make them adaptable. Tie them into current events, urgent campaigns, or seasonal appeals. Dynamic forms = dynamic giving.

5. Event Registration & Calendars

Events are where missions come alive, whether it’s fundraisers, volunteer drives, or community workshops. Yet, event pages with multi-step forms, unclear RSVP processes, or outdated calendars frustrate users and hurt attendance.

Every digital interaction your supporters have should be effortless. When someone clicks “RSVP,” they’re already halfway bought in. That moment is precious. A multi-step form or outdated calendar interrupts that momentum and undermines the energy you’re building.

Steps for Action:

• Use embedded, single-page event forms, no redirects or extra steps.
• Offer calendar syncing (Google Calendar, iCal) and automated reminder emails or texts.
• Allow RSVP management and waitlists, build FOMO and track attendance trends.
• Integrate with ticket payment systems & CRM platforms for seamless data flow.

Events are content too. Make event pages evergreen assets, include post-event recaps, photos, or impact reports. Turn one-time attendees into long-term donors.

6. Social Media Integration

Your website is your conversion hub, but your community lives on social media. If you don’t bridge the two effectively, you’re losing potential reach, shares, and supporter-generated content.

96% of nonprofits have Facebook Pages. Supporters want to be part of your story, not just observers. Integrating social media isn’t about plastering icons everywhere. Think of your supporters not just as readers, but as amplifiers.They want to share your story, tag their friends, and show up as part of your mission. But they can only do that if you make it easy and rewarding.

Steps for action:

• Embed real-time social feeds (Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn) to create dynamic, fresh content on your homepage.
• Include social share buttons on key pages, donation, events, blog posts, with pre-written share copy.
• Enable peer-to-peer fundraising integrations, let supporters easily fundraise through their own networks via social platforms.
• Track social referral traffic & conversions in your analytics dashboard to see what’s working.

Case Study

Fifty & Fifty revamped VolunteerMatch’s social media strategy to expand their reach within the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) space. By aligning platform content with mission-driven website CTAs and simplifying the supporter journey from social post to action.

Don’t treat social media integration passively. Consider dedicating landing pages for campaigns that are explicitly designed for sharing, think influencer partnerships, or viral challenges, all feeding back to your website.

Download the Essential Nonprofit Website Checklist

Content Essentials

7. Mission & Impact Storytelling

People don’t give to faceless organizations, they give to causes they connect with, to stories that move them, and to communities they feel part of. Storytelling is the emotional connection behind donor engagement, advocacy, and volunteerism. That’s the power of storytelling: it transforms data into meaning, and missions into movements

Many nonprofit websites bury their mission behind vague jargon or generic statistics. That’s a missed opportunity.

Your mission statement shouldn’t be a paragraph hidden on your About page. It should be at the centre of your homepage. And the way you convey impact should focus less on what your organization does, and more on how supporters make that impact possible.

Steps for action:

• Place a clear, emotionally resonant mission statement prominently (above the fold).
• Build an impact story library, short stories featuring real beneficiaries, donors, or volunteers.
• Incorporate videos, testimonials, and interactive visuals, let supporters see, hear, and feel the difference they’re making.
• Use data storytelling, combine metrics with narrative (“200 families housed, but here’s Jane’s story.”)
• Update stories regularly, fresh narratives = returning visitors = increased trust.

Case Study

For the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Fifty & Fifty partnered to launch the “Syria Street” interactive digital experience, combining storytelling and animated photography. This immersive content was designed to humanize conflict-affected communities, driving awareness and media coverage. The result? Over 25 global media features, including The New York Times and Al Jazeera, plus a Webby Award win for best use of video, proving that storytelling isn’t just impactful, it’s measurable.

Treat storytelling as your highest-performing conversion tool. It humanizes abstract missions, breaks down donor hesitation, and builds long-term supporter relationships.

8. Blog or News Section

Your blog is about positioning your nonprofit as a trusted thought leader in your space, engaging donors with relevant content, and improving your website’s SEO visibility.

“Think of your blog as your organization’s voice. Every post is a chance to educate, advocate, and inspire action. And from an SEO perspective, every well-optimized post is another way supporters find you organically.”

Steps for action:

• Develop a content calendar aligned with campaigns, events, and advocacy goals.
• Diversify content: volunteer spotlights, beneficiary interviews, donor Q&As, staff stories, behind-the-scenes posts.
• Include strong CTAs, newsletter sign-ups, donation links, event registrations.
• Optimize for search, target nonprofit-related keywords (e.g., “volunteer opportunities in [city]”, “how to donate to [cause]”).
• Make posts shareable on social media, with embedded share buttons and visually engaging graphics.

​The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., is renowned for its in-depth, nonpartisan research that addresses pressing societal issues.  Through the publication of detailed reports and articles, Brookings has solidified its position as a thought leader in public policy.​

Use your blog as an onboarding funnel, introduce visitors to your mission, nurture them with valuable content, and guide them toward meaningful actions (donate, advocate, volunteer).

9. Transparent Financial Information

Transparency is a cornerstone of donor trust. Supporters want to know exactly where their money goes, who manages it, and how it impacts lives.

Do not bury this information in hard-to-find PDFs or vague financial reports. That’s a missed opportunity to strengthen credibility.

Financial transparency is storytelling, too. Break down every dollar and connect it to mission impact. When donors see how efficiently their contributions fuel change, they become repeat givers and vocal advocates.

Steps for Action:

• Publish annual reports, Form 990s, audited financials and link them prominently on your homepage/footer.
• Visualize financial data, infographics, pie charts, program expense breakdowns, make complex reports digestible.
• Include leadership bios, board members, and accountability practices to reinforce governance integrity.
• Consider a ‘Where Your Money Goes’ interactive feature, allow donors to explore funding allocations by program, region, or initiative.

Leverage transparency as a marketing differentiator. Feature donor testimonials specifically highlighting how financial clarity made them choose your organization over others.

“A nonprofit website is often the only touchpoint supporters have before they decide to give or engage. If your branding feels inconsistent—or worse, your site isn’t accessible, you’re unintentionally alienating your audience. Accessibility compliance isn’t just about legal standards. It’s about aligning your digital presence with your nonprofit’s core values. And branding consistency, when carried through every page, builds long-term supporter trust.” — Javan, Fifty & Fifty Digital Strategist

A good nonprofit website removes friction. It makes someone feel something and do something. It helps donors give with confidence, volunteers raise their hands, and communities feel seen and heard.

It’s about building a digital foundation that reflects the heart of your work and grows your impact every day.

To discover further the importance of aligning branding, user experience, and engagement strategies to create seamless donation processes that drive conversions read our blog create a donation page for your fundraising.