Learn to love your nonprofit website!
Most nonprofits I work with already have a website. The problem is that no one on staff feels confident touching it. Content goes stale. Donation buttons break. A theme update takes down the whole layout. Your mission is vital, but your neglected website tells a different story.
Donors, funders, and community members are looking at that site. If it’s out of date, hard to navigate, or doesn’t reflect the work you’re actually doing, it undermines your hard-won trust equity.
Common digital challenges facing nonprofits and community groups
Your mission-critical website drifts further out of date month by month because the cost of getting it wrong feels too high.
A “Frankenstein” website is one that’s accumulated years of plugins, theme customizations, and manual workarounds until nobody’s sure what’s safe to change. Plugin notifications and other updates are ignored because last time someone clicked “update,” something broke.
The gap between the work you are doing and what your website shows is a credibility problem.
Funders doing due diligence, community members looking for programs, volunteers trying to find contact information — they all use your website. When they find last year’s events still listed, staff members who’ve moved on, or program descriptions that no longer match what you offer, it creates uncertainty.
Donation and registration flows are losing people before they convert.
A broken donate button or a confusing multi-step form doesn’t just cost you that transaction, it costs you the relationship. People who arrive ready to give or get involved and encounter friction often don’t come back. The path from “I want to help” to “I did it!” should be as short and clear as possible.
Working with Emily to care for our website has taken all of the stress out of it! She’s incredibly responsive and easy to work with, proactive and reliable, and reacts with patience and grace when helping us navigate the technology involved. It’s a relief to have a partner with technical know-how AND people skills.
Lori Gee, Executive Director, RCS Food Pantry and Community Kitchen
How I support nonprofits and community organization websites
A site your staff can’t maintain isn’t a solution.
I build stable, accessible WordPress websites structured around what your visitors actually need to do: donate, volunteer, find programs, register for events, or get help. Navigation is organized around user tasks, not internal org charts. Content types for programs, events, news, and staff are set up so updates are straightforward, not something staff dread.
Donation and integration flows
Your website shouldn’t feel like it ends at the donate button. I work with your existing tools, whether that’s a plugin-based donation form, an external platform, or a CRM with its own giving pages, to create a smooth, on-brand experience from your site through the transaction and back.
If you’re not sure which tools are the right fit, I can help you think through the options.
Content structure and navigation planning
Years of organically added pages tend to create a navigation that makes sense to insiders and no one else. I work with your team to map what’s actually on the site, identify what’s missing or outdated, and rebuild the structure around your top audiences and their most important tasks. You’ll end up with a clear, logical site that visitors can navigate without guidance.
Accessibility conformance
Nonprofits and community organizations serve a wide range of people, including those with disabilities, limited digital literacy, or older devices and slower connections. I work toward WCAG 2.1 AA conformance and provide guidance on how your team can maintain those standards when adding new content. I build to WCAG 2.1 AA, test with automated and manual methods, and train your team on the basics.
Ready to talk about a project?
Curious to see how your current site performs?
Share your link and I’ll send you:
- Your free website report and 10 minute video that gives you a plain-language read on what’s working, what’s not, and what would make the biggest difference for your staff and your community.
- An invite to a complimentary consult call where you can ask questions and discuss any issues in more detail.
Emily is a delight to work with. She is professional, knowledgeable, and committed. Her timely communication and organizational skills provided important scaffolding for our project, and the end result is clean, accessible, and user-friendly.
Essie, Programs Manager, KPACT
What it’s like to work with me
Based in Chautauqua County, NY, I serve nonprofits and community organizations throughout the United States. I’ve worked with small nonprofits, community arts organizations, advocacy groups, and food access programs — organizations where every dollar counts and staff capacity is stretched.
Strategies that fit your reality
Nonprofit projects involve board approvals, grant timelines, multiple stakeholders with different priorities, and budgets that don’t leave room for surprises. I understand and build for these requirements.
Responsive communication
You work directly with me throughout the project. Decisions get documented in plain language. I’m reachable when questions come up, and I flag issues before they become project blockers.
Decisions backed by data
Where your current site has analytics or search data, I’ll use it to inform decisions. Where it doesn’t, we’ll set that up. You’ll understand why the site is structured the way it is, and you’ll have a clear picture of how it’s performing after launch.
At launch, I walk you through exactly how to manage your site and provide video and written documentation.
Ready to talk about a project?
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FAQs about your nonprofit website
How long does it take to build a website?
Custom WordPress websites can take 4-6 weeks or 6-8 months. This process includes discovery, design, development, content creation, and thorough testing.
Start with a complimentary call and we can review your current site and needs. I’ll provide a clear proposal and timeline after our initial consultation.
Can you help us plan this project around our budget cycle or a grant?
Yes. I can work with your timeline, phase the project if your budget requires it, and provide the documentation a funder might need. If you’re applying for a grant that includes web-related costs, I’m happy to provide a quote you can include in the application.
Can you work with our existing donation platform or CRM?
Yes, in most cases. Whether you’re using GiveWP, Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, Little Green Light, Salesforce, Mailchimp, or another tool, there’s usually a clean way to connect it with your WordPress site. If there are limitations, I’ll tell you up front.
Will we lose our existing content or links when we move to a new site?
Not if we plan carefully. I audit your current content, keep URLs consistent where possible, and set up redirects for anything that changes. External links from other sites, grant applications, and directories will be accounted for. We’ll monitor Search Console through the transition to catch anything unexpected.
How much our content do we need to rewrite?
That depends on how current and accurate your existing content is. Some organizations reuse most of what they have with light editing; others use the redesign as an opportunity to revisit everything. I’ll give you a clear picture of what needs attention during the audit, and we’ll plan accordingly. Content support is available if your team doesn’t have capacity to handle it internally.
Custom websites are built on WordPress with user-friendly editing tools. I provide training and documentation so you can easily update service pages, and publish content without calling me every time.
We don’t have a dedicated communications person. Who will maintain the site after launch?
That’s exactly the situation I build for. Whoever on your team will be responsible for updates gets training tailored to what they actually need to do — editing program pages, updating staff lists, posting events, publishing news. Written documentation goes with the site so it’s there when staff turn over.
For technical site maintenance, plugin updates, core WordPress updates – I offer affordable monthly and annual website maintenance plans.
Do you provide website hosting or do I need my own?
I can work with select existing hosting providers or recommend managed WordPress hosts that specialize in professional service websites. I’ll guide you through the technical requirements and help ensure your hosting meets security and performance standards.
“You get what you pay for,” is the general rule of thumb here and cheap hosting is cheap hosting.
Do you handle ongoing maintenance and updates?
Websites require consistent maintenance to stay secure, functional, and compliant. I offer website maintenance plans after 30-days of complimentary support which include: regular security updates, performance monitoring, backup management, and accessibility audits.
I also provide priority support for urgent issues and help with content updates when your team needs assistance.
Do you offer ongoing help or staff training after launch?
Hands-on sessions focused on the tasks your team will actually perform: editing pages, updating programs and staff listings, publishing events and news, and managing basic content changes. Everything is documented in writing so it’s available when new staff join or when someone needs a refresher.
Month-to-month or annual website maintenance is available for technical updates and management.
I also offer pre-paid “time banks”. Buy hours in advance, use them for anything. That might look like content planning, SEO monitoring, small site updates, or a quarterly review of what’s working. The scope is flexible based on what you actually need.
Can we start small and expand the site over time?
Yes, and for many organizations that’s the right approach. We can prioritize the highest-impact work first — usually navigation, key program pages, and donation flow — and plan additional phases as budget and capacity allow. Each phase is designed to deliver value on its own.
What if a board member or funder wants to be involved in the design process?
That’s common and manageable. I recommend establishing a small internal decision-making group and running reviews through them, rather than opening design decisions to a large committee. I can provide context and rationale that helps your team communicate choices to stakeholders clearly.
Have a question you don’t see here? Reach out – I’d be happy to schedule a call with you.
Integrated digital services that help you to deliver on your mission.
Let me put 20 years of web development experience to work for you.