The 5 important features of a foundation website will help you quickly understand what elements are important for your foundation to build trust in your community and to help people become involved in many ways — including donors and grantors.
Get it right the First Time for your foundation website
There are 5 important features of a foundation website that help you create a long-lasting digital presence. They include:
- Branding
- Choosing a Content Management Software (CMS)
- Structure and Page Templates
- Content for the website
- CRM and Donation Software
1: Foundation Branding
How to establish your foundation’s branding
First, you must determine who your foundation’s target audience is and establish how best to reach them. Other branding elements include:
- Logo: A logo is a visual representation of a company’s brand. It is often used on business cards, websites, advertising materials, and other marketing materials to identify the company.
- Tagline: A tagline is a short, memorable phrase that is associated with a brand. It helps to differentiate the brand from the competition and can be used to drive customer loyalty.
- Color: Color plays an important role in branding. Different colors can evoke different feelings in customers and can help a company stand out from the competition.
- Font: The font used in a company’s branding can make a big difference in how customers perceive the brand. Different fonts can evoke different feelings and can help a company stand out.
- Images: Images are often used in branding to help create a visual representation of the brand. Images can convey messages and emotions that help to build a brand.
- Voice: A brand’s voice is important in helping to set it apart from the competition. It is important for a brand to have a consistent voice across all of its marketing materials.
- Storytelling: Storytelling is a powerful tool for brands. It can help to create an emotional connection with customers,
You can see that the RYR-1 Foundation website that we built has a strong connection to the community it serves by utilizing vibrant colors, a positive message, and video storytelling on the homepage.
2: Choosing a Content Management System (CMS)
Content management is often a complex decision for many foundations and non-profits. At Non-Profit Web Designs we use WordPress for many reasons including:
- Easy to content manage – we build our WordPress websites so that you can easily update and change content
- Complete Control – you have complete control over the foundation website
- Easy to extend – there are 1000’s of extensions for you to use on your website including donations, event registrations, membership, grant applications, image galleries, and much more.
- Integrates with many different CRMS
- Integrates with donation software
- Completely customizable
- You own the code
- Mobile Optimized
This video illustrates how easy it is to add content to a WordPress website.
3: Structure and functionality for your foundation website
There are many types of content that belong on a foundation website, The beauty of WordPress is that even after you launch, you can create additional pages and add them to your website. Here are a few common pages and functions.
- Homepage – This will show many aspects of your Foundation including your mission, your impact, updated news, donations, and events.
- About Us – Features mission details, history, board members, how to get involved
- Programs and Grants – this shows people how to apply for grants and can even integrate with grant application software so you can manage the applications.
- News and Updates – important for Search Engine Optimization
- Event Registration – allows members to sign up for events
- Donations – Easy-to-use donation software increases donations for your foundation
- Resources: This helps users with valuable information. RYR1 – Example
4: Foundation Content
Foundation content is what you write and how you write it within each of your page templates. It is important to have a tone of voice and to frequently update your content on your website in order for it to have great SEO (Search Engine Optimization). For example, within your News and Updates, you can write about new grants that you’ve awarded, success stories, impact, etc.
5: Foundation CRMs and Donation Software
There are many CRMs to choose from. It is important for you to establish what the requirements of your CRM should be and select 4 or 5 to “review” and have trial runs. For donations, we use a plugin that completely integrates with WordPress giving you an excellent user experience.
Summary
These 5 important features of a foundation website can start the ball rolling for your new design and structure. We are experts at foundation and non-profit websites and would be happy to schedule a pro-bono call to see how we can help you.