How  to  Build  an  Awesome  Non-­‐Profit  

Website  

You can download this presentation at www.slideshare.net/ellendid4

Please connect with me! www.RedSageOnline.com

twitter.com/ellendidier twitter.com/RedSageAL

facebook.com/redsage linkedin.com/in/ellendidier

What We’ll Cover Today:

1.  Planning  your  awesome  website  

2.  Developing  awesome  content  

3.  Programming  realiBes  and  opBons  

4.  Awesome  Apps  

What We’ll Cover Today:

1.  Planning  your  awesome  website  

2.  Developing  awesome  content  

3.  Programming  realiBes  and  opBons  

4.  Awesome  Apps  

Look at other non-profit websites: What do you like? Home page, content, navigation – write down your favorites

Write down what you want on

your home page

Plan your navigation carefully – what pages and where?

What you need to include:

Make a site map (outline) that shows your navigation

  Home   About

•  History •  Board •  Staff

  Programs •  After School •  Parenting Classes

Make a list of any applications you want and add them to your site map

  Photo gallery   Events Calendar   Online Donation   Facebook or twitter feed   Videos   Blog   Image Banner

PROVIDING

1. A defined # of pages 2. List of applications you want 3. Links to examples you like

EQUALS…

More accurate quotes and much smoother project flow

Very happy programmers

What We’ll Cover Today:

1.  Planning  your  awesome  website  

2.  Developing  awesome  content  

3.  Programming  realiBes  and  opBons  

4.  Awesome  Apps  

Write your content in one Word document - sitemap followed by

content for all pages in order   Keep it simple - short text sections broken

up by sub headers, bullet lists are great   Make a note of what photos would be used

on that page   Make a note of any links or downloads to

include on that page   How will you use header or sidebar area?

PEOPLE DON’T READ.

Avoid long paragraphs – use bullets

Talk about your goals and progress

Talk about your programs or success stories – show pictures of people impacted (if possible)

Use videos (testimonials at a minimum) Load on YouTube

Tell your stories visually, educate, explain the impact

Charitywater.org

Link to great interactive content if you can’t create your own

Use Good Quality Photography

  Hire a professional – or get one to donate in exchange for a sponsorship

  ThinkStock.com

What We’ll Cover Today:

1.  Planning  your  awesome  website  

2.  Developing  awesome  content  

3.  Programming  realiBes  and  opBons  

4.  Awesome  Apps  

Note that I did not say awesome options.

Who will program your site?

  Everything we covered up to now will help you get a realistic price from a programmer

  Don’t let your uncle’s neighbor’s son’s girlfriend do it – unless you have them build it on a platform of your choice!

  Ad Agencies/Web Development companies, Freelancers (will they be there for you after it is built?)

  You!

Low budget? Look at “Build Your Own” Web Sites

  Benefits:   low cost with a lot of features   Stays up to date with technology –

if you use a reputable company   Mobile options

Low budget? Look at “Build your own” Web Sites

  Drawbacks:   depends on your time and writing

skills   Can still be very technical and

intimidating

How to choose a platform   Start with the list of platforms provided

in this presentation (next slides)   Take test drives of each – usually

online demos or free for 1 month   Choose based on design, features,

easy to use, support, and price

Good Build-Your-Own Website Options

  www.web.com   www.squarespace.com   www.weebly.com   www.webstarts.com

If you hire a company   Make sure they are using a (CMS) Content

Management System like Joomla or Wordpress NOT Dreamweaver, php, asp, or Flash

  Make sure the hosting is reliable, secure and backed up – the risk of hacking is real

  Expect to pay $3,000+ for a reputable company

Responsive Design – adapts the layout for each kind of device

What We’ll Cover Today:

1.  Planning  your  awesome  website  

2.  Developing  awesome  content  

3.  Programming  realiBes  and  opBons  

4.  Awesome  Apps  

EventBrite for Event Registration

SupporterWall.com – a creative way to get donations

MobileCause.com – mobilize mobile for donations and marketing

(not free)

Wordle.com – create your own FREE word cloud graphic

Animoto.com/cause – create videos from photos, video clips and music

Qwiki.com – create and share FREE movies out of the videos and

photos you shot on your iphone

Quozio.com – create FREE pretty testimonials or quotes

PicMonkey.com – FREE online photo editing - you don’t need

photoshop to save images for web

FotoFlexer.com – another FREE online image editor

www.Easel.ly - create a FREE infographic from a template

dipity.com – FREE or low cost online timeline for web and social media

dipity.com – FREE or low cost online timeline for web and social media

Download this presentation at www.slideshare.net/ellendid4

Please connect with me! www.RedSageOnline.com

twitter.com/ellendidier twitter.com/RedSageAL

facebook.com/redsage linkedin.com/in/ellendidier