6 Things to Include on a Charity Website

Last week I blogged about our involvement with the TREAT Trust Wales and decided to write down some tips to help other non-profit organisations make the most of the web.

The first step in any social media/marketing campaign is to make sure that when people get to your website they get the information they need. The following information is what I would expect to find on a charity's website.

1. Tell us about your mission

Tell us what you hope to achieve. What your aims and objectives are and how you intend to fulfil them. It should be short & to the point so that we can pick up the message at a glance.

2. Show us a donate button

The main aim of getting people to your website is generally to donate some money - so make this as easy as possible! Provide a button that will take people directly to a page or website where they can make a donation. Whether you use PayPal buttons or JustGiving, make sure it is easy to find.

3. Tell us how we can help

If donations aren't the only thing you are looking for, make sure to include a section telling us how we can help. Whether volunteering, arranging an event or signing up to easyfundraising, for example, this information should be easy to get to and explanations or 'call to actions' should be included.

4. Show us what will money be used for

This is likely to be included as part of your mission, but it is worth mentioning again! Explain how you intend to use the money raised to reassure supporters that funds will be well spent.

5. Tell us what's going on

Show us that you are an active charity and let us know what you are planning or what you have done. If you are working on a project, let us know about progress, where money is being spent and how people, animals or communities are benefitting. Try to make sure it's kept up to date.

6. Help us stay up to date

Remind supporters how they can stay up to date, whether this is via a newsletter, Twitter or Facebook, and make sure that sign up options are easy and accessible.


There is much more you can add to a charity website, but these are the key points to help reassure and convince supporters that they should help you - and make it quick and simple to do so.

If you run or manage a non-profit website, let me know if you have any comments or questions and I'll do my best to help where I can.

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Baby Steps

In web terms, the Picseli website is a baby. It is not yet registered in Google so no-one can find it...unless they have the web address of course. It has very little content, as we are still working on the design. And it isn’t due to launch until 1^st November 2008. Yet, here I am writing about its success.

A successful Website

I am confident that by spending some time writing content and understanding the search engines and their users that I can have a successful website – after all that’s what all the other SEO companies are doing, isn’t it?

Understand your aim

The first thing to do is to consider exactly what it is that you want your website to do. Who you want to target. What you want to say. For example, Picseli is intended to attract people who need a website, want to improve their site or need some advice on how to do better. It needs to give visitors information on our products and services and a way to get in touch. I want to use the website as a case study to show you that the work we do does make a difference and to give you a more personal feel about who we are.

Take your time

I have worked on a number of websites and rarely do the website owners consider what it’s like from the users point of view. Yes, you need to make sure you get your message across, but is it the one users are searching for? At the moment the majority of people don’t want to spend money on a flashy brand new website, but want to find out how to make more of the money they have spent on it. This is what we will be focusing our website on in the coming months. It can take time to get the message right, but it is worth thinking about it and taking a step back to have a look at your site every now and then to check the meaning is right.

Time to get on?

If you want to discuss the article above and want some help to get your message right please give us a ring now on 08702 402777 or email Rhian@picseli.co.uk to arrange for a website health check.