Examples of Great Nonprofit Websites Using WordPress

We sought out to uncover examples of great nonprofit websites built in WordPress in hopes you can follow suit for your nonprofit. Read about what design choices each nonprofit made which aided their mission, and how WordPress plugins and features helped as well.

Then consider downloading Idealware’s WordPress report to better understand plugin capabilities.

nonprofit-wordpress-site-design-examplesAcumen

  • design:
    • photos – the homepage photos take up the whole screen with photos from the field – full of emotion – drawing the viewer in from the get-go
    • color scheme – they use bright bold colors which emphasizes their “bold” way of tackling poverty around the world
    • calls to action – all of their CTA’s point towards the action of learning more about how they help
  • use of WordPress:
    • HTML5 – includes latest in ajax loading, infinity scrolling and use of javascript. This helps in loading all photos faster.
    • Custom Post Types – makes content creation easier as it’s very straightforward for any user
    • Plugins – maximizes social sharing (again call to action = to share)
    • Custom blog tagging system – pulls in relevant content to different places throughout the site, increasing blog traffic & time on site
    • Convio – eases donation process with their CRM integration


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We Promise Foundation

  • DESIGN:
    • clean layout – this is a very simple site and it’s easy to navigate throughout
    • calls to action – they draw attention to their events. Their homepage really only includes a homepage video, their 3 featured events and the latest news from the field
    • clear description – it’s easy to tell what they do right from the start
  • Use of WordPress:
    • Analytics – a strong analytics component helps them understand their user flow and how effective their CTA’s are might be a reason they’ve raised $3 million this year
    • Gravity Forms – their use of this email list building tool (one we recommend here) has built up their donor database

best-nonprofit-wordpress-sites

the Jane Goodall Institute

  • Design:
    • interactive page load – scrolling through the page, you learn more as you go. The numbers update as you go which incentivizes a user to stay on the page
    • emphasis on Jane – as the founder of the organization Jane Goodall is obviously important, yet they do a good job of placing her photos & quotes intermittently throughout the homepage to show a personal touch, without overdoing it
  • Use of WordPress:
    • Yoast SEO – with this plugin, they ensure all of their pages, blogs & other content is optimized for search. Read more on why we recommend this for nonprofits here.
    • Total Cache – increases page load speed and as such, improves user experience. This is helpful as they have many different pieces to their nonprofit and a lot of content for the user to digest.

population-media-center-nonprofit_wordpress-site

Population Media Center

  • Design:
    • call outs – one of the first things the user sees on the homepage is the specific way in which Population Media Center addresses their mission. Tactics such as “Serial Dramas” help them to stand out in their unique approach.
    • interactive feature – they have a component halfway down the page that shows the number of births since your visit. This keeps the user even more engaged.wordpress-site-design-features
    • call to action – they equate all of their calls to action in one row, showing that involvement makes a difference even if it doesn’t come in the form of a large donation
  • Use of WordPress:
    • PowerPress Podcast – since they use media as a way to engage with their mission, this powerful podcast plugin is great for their site
    • Font Awesome – another aspect that stand out on the site is their use of font. The WordPress plugin helps to increase page load speed even with all of the fonts.

wordpress-nonprofit-site-examples

CURE International

  • Design:
    • clean – this site might be the most simple yet engaging WordPress design example we’ve found. It just includes a photo of smiling kids and two options for ways to help. It makes involvement feel doable to a user. As a user goes through the site, unlike many others, you don’t get overwhelmed with content. The simple design of a few photos with simple CTA’s remains.
  • Use of WordPress:
    • FastClick – keeps the movement through their site feeling rapid
    • Twitter Embeds – allows for a tweet to be embedded into a blog with more than just the tweet as it includes links for interacting on Twitter

examples-of-great-nonprofit-websitesMinnesota Masonic Home

  • Design
    • focus on viewer – when designing this site, ArcStone focused on the end-user: an elderly audience. This means there are different font size options for each page and the navigation is simple
    • emphasis on location – since Masonic Charities wanted to promote the home, ArcStone designed the site around the beautiful photography and highlighted many different pieces of their new building.
  • use of wordpress
    • across-the-board management – all Masonic Charities sites are built in WordPress, so the team does not have to work with many different platforms. They can easily manage their content with this flexible, user-friendly CMS.
    • Pro Event Calendar – besides the previously mentioned ArcStone favorite WordPress plugins, Masonic Homes uses WordPress Pro Event Calendar seeing as this is a main function of their center. This makes event planning and coordination much easier as it manages your events, connects them to Google Maps and Facebook and much more.

Wishing your nonprofit’s website could keep up with these? It can!