The short answer: an effective non-profit website holds in seven pages: the home page, the mission, the actions, the donation page, volunteering, transparency and contact. With one demand running through everything: each page must answer the question donors, volunteers and partners all ask: "what will my support be used for?"
The context: three audiences, one site
A non-profit website speaks to three audiences at once: the beneficiaries looking for help, the supporters (donors, volunteers) who want to act, and the partners (public funders, foundations, companies) assessing your seriousness. The site must orient each of them at a glance, without mixing them up.
1. The home page: the mission in one sentence
Who you help, how, where. One concrete sentence ("We shelter and support women in difficulty in Brussels") beats every abstract slogan. Then two clear buttons: "Donate" and "Act with us". The classic mistake: a home page that talks about the organisation before talking about the cause.
2. The mission: the why and the how
The problem you answer, your approach, your history in a few lines, and the faces of the team and the board. It is the page partners read before a first meeting.
3. The actions: proof, not intentions
A page (or one per programme) showing what you actually do: the year's figures, testimonies, field photos. Concrete results, even modest ones, beat grand declarations. This is where a donor decides their money will be put to use.
4. The donation page: the shortest possible journey
A button visible across the site, a simple page: amounts with their concrete equivalent ("EUR 25 = one food parcel"), bank transfer or online payment depending on your tools, and information on tax deductibility and the certificate if your organisation qualifies. Every extra field and click costs real donations.
5. Volunteering: say what you need
Concrete missions (reception, logistics, communication, advice), the time asked, and a short form. "Become a volunteer" with no detail recruits nobody; "2 hours a week for homework support" does.
6. Transparency: your best argument
Activity report, accounts or a link to their official publication, accreditations, partners. A non-profit that shows its figures inspires trust; one that hides them raises doubts, often unfairly. This page works for you with foundations and public funders.
7. Contact: by audience
Who to reach for what: asking for help, proposing a partnership, a press question. Address, phone, and office hours if you hold them.
What should NOT be on the site
- Miserabilism: the dignity of beneficiaries comes first; photos and stories are chosen with their consent and respect.
- Sector jargon: "target audience", "transversal axis", "advocacy" speak to funders, not to donors. Two registers, one clear site.
- The ghost agenda: an "events" page empty for two years harms the cause. No page beats a dead page.
The typical structure, summarised
| Page | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Home | What do you do, and what can I do? |
| Mission | Why do you exist? |
| Actions | What do you produce, concretely? |
| Donation | What will my money be used for, and how do I give? |
| Volunteering | What do you need, precisely? |
| Transparency | Can I trust you? |
| Contact | Who do I reach, for what? |
And technically?
A non-profit rarely has a webmaster: the CMS must let the team (and passing volunteers) publish news, actions and reports without technical skills. On the budget side, that is precisely the point of our Kern4Good rate for the non-profit sector: the same professional foundations, adjusted to non-profit means.
We have a full page on what we do for the sector: websites for non-profits. To situate the budgets, see our article on prices, and the principles of a site that makes people act are in our 5 conversion principles. Tell us about your organisation: we will have visited your site before replying.