WP for Nonprofits - MASSTRAILS CONFERENCE€¦ · Wordpressfor Nonprofits •Powerful solution with...

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Wordpress for NonprofitsScott Lewis

slewis@slewis.orghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/slewisma/

Wordpress

• Wordpress is a good general purpose CMS• Wordpress is not the only solution• Wordpress is what we’ll be looking at today

About Me

• Founder of Lewis Studios and Trail Websites• Design, develop and operate websites for a variety of customers

including many nonprofits• Repeatable solution for conservation and land trusts

Introduction

• What is Wordpress?• Content matters. A lot.• Wordpress is a foundation. Add a theme, some plugins, your content

and maybe a page builder and you’ve really got something!• Editing HTML can be difficult, error prone and is usually no longer

necessary• Visitors arrive on many device types and screen sizes

It is all about the conversation

• Start with the audiences• Nonprofits usually have 3 or more key audiences!

• Map their journey, inventory your existing content and build a plan• PDCA – this isn’t a once and done thing!

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Wordpress Tech Basics

• LAMP• Hosting Choices• Domain Name• Email and other services belong

somewhere else• Installation and

PROD/STAGE/DEV• Local development with AMPPS,

MAMP, Flywheel, other tools

MySQL Database

Linux Operating System

ApacheWeb Server

PHP

Wordpress

Theme Plugins

Infrastructure (Hosting Service, Server, VM, Laptop, etc.)

Pages, Posts, Choice of Editors

• Pages are found by menu or links• Posts are in newsfeeds, the blog or posts widgets on pages• Posts have categories and tags

• Editing is more like word processing than coding• WP 5 Block Editor• Classic Visual Editor• Text Editor• Page Builder

Themes, Plugins and Page Builders Oh My!

• Efficient, well supported, flexible themes rule• Just enough plugins and no

more• Page builder if you need it

Media

• Uploading, organizing, using images, PDFs, audio, video• Do you need more tools?• Featured Image• Galleries, Lightboxes and

Slideshows

Custom Content and Taxonomies

• Toolset, ACF• CPTs• Taxonomies• Collections and Works Example

Shortcodes

• Themes, Page Builders, Plugins and custom functions make dynamic content available via shortcodes• Ie. [member]content for members only[/member]

Sidebars and Widgets

• Sidebars seem to be fading in a mobile-first world• Widgets can be anywhere. Usually in header, footer, sidebar• Wordpress comes with some widgets. Plugins add more.

Search

• Make search easy to find• Enhance with Relevanssi

Owned v. Earned Media

• Bring ‘em to your media!• Your site is under your control and free of distractions• Social is controlled by someone else with their own motives

Operations

• Backups• Periodic testing• Offsite storage

• Upgrades and Updates• Pretesting

Nonprofit Considerations

The Conversations

• By role: Client, Citizen, etc., Volunteer, Donor• By action: Learn, Attend, Get Involved, etc.• By topic: News, Events, Trails• Segment and make sure the visitor can find themselves in one or

more sets of messages

Nonprofit Examples

• Land trusts• Events, Audiences, Properties & Trails

• Food Pantry• Clients, Volunteers, Donors, Online Giving

• Historical Society and Museum• Shop, Historical Documents

Donor Pages

• GiveWP• Paypal buttons• Outside services• Donor Management System

integration• Privacy and security

Calendar / Events List

• Embed• Plugin• Custom Post Type

Volunteer Pages

• Volunteer Interest Form• Storytelling• Show ‘em how they’ll be

engaged

Forms

• Theme may include a basic contact form• WPForms, Gravity Forms, etc.• Externally embedded forms• Mailing List Signup

Newsletters

• If PDF, add ToC in post• Use categories to put in their

own feed• Present on site, not at EMS’ site

Wordpress for Nonprofits

• Powerful solution with infinite customization options• Requires some maintenance• Start with audiences and content• Part of overall marketing strategy, not an island• Plugins are available for nonprofits' common needs

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