Get More Online Donations and Improve Organizational Awareness
Unlike many web design agencies, Idea Marketing Group has decades of experience working with nonprofit organizations. That experience matters when you’re looking for a knowledgeable nonprofit website design and marketing partner who understands your unique challenges and opportunities for growth.
Why is custom non-profit web design the best choice?
Brands should look at their websites as the foundation for all online marketing campaigns. It is where all your marketing channels feed into. With a properly built website, you will reduce the spending needed on other channels, which will result in long-term savings and improved opportunities to generate more revenue through investment in nonprofit website development. The 5 most important reasons to consider custom web design are:
Built for your needs and operations
Easy and fast to update
Long-term marketing savings
Better conversion rates and opportunities
Faster loading speeds for engagement
What is included in the web development process?
We cover every detail of web design and will guide you through the entire process. Our goal is to minimize your time needed and we’ll be the one to drive the project milestones and take on all of the heavy lifting. We invest the time to learn your story, your challenges, and your goals through team meetings and regular check-ins to talk through questions and maintain vision alignment. These are the main phases of each website development project:
Website Roadmap – a long-term plan for the build today and for the future
SEO Strategy – what to focus on and where
Content – we’ll help write and edit
UI/UX – responsive, mobile-friendly designed layouts
Website Development – custom on WordPress including APIs & Databases
How do we measure ROI on nonprofit web design projects?
We know that well-built websites are an investment for nonprofit organizations. An investment that can make or break a organization’s market budget and impact the overall revenue. We don’t cut any corners and look at every detail. It is critical to establish KPIs at the very beginning of your project to be a guiding point for the build.
We enjoy partnering with nonprofits, as the work is rewarding for our creative team members just as much as it is for nonprofit organizations, which makes a big difference in the website outcomes. Our personalized boutique agency approach offers a truly pleasant experience by holding individualized sessions with your team, providing customized advice and support, and going that extra mile to hone in on the small details to make your brand stand out.
By utilizing our unique science of nonprofit website design, we can help keep your stakeholders happy, improve the volume of donations on your nonprofit website, and increase the overall awareness of your organization.
Leads
What is the monthly average of inbound leads? Which page did they originate from? Can geographic patterns be identified? Are there common pain points that can be leveraged for website content?
Search Rankings
Is the website built in a way to maximize your search engine marketing efforts? Do you have SEO-focused landing pages?
Page Load Speed
How long does it take for a page to load? Do you know what your averages are? What elements are slowing down the website?
Device Use
What percentage of visitors are using mobile devices? Is the website built to engage your users on the devices they use most?
Engagement
What is the average time spent on pages? What are the average page views per visit?
Driving Social Justice
A Non-Profit Group Dedicated to Equality
Now rebranded as Impact for Equity, previously BPI Chicago. Their work is focused on police accountability, the criminal legal system, and housing. BPI utilizes a combination of legal tools, policy research, advocacy, organizing, and convening to work toward transformational change.
A Non-Profit Website Design that Wasn’t Driving Social Action
BPI Chicago reached out to a local Chicago web design company, Idea, to create a nonprofit web design for the WordPress Content Management System. BPI was looking for a new website that would help inform people who are concerned with public interest law.
The new custom web design needed to feature clear, easy navigation that highlighted critical information. Users needed to be encouraged to get involved or take action in the form of donations. The previous website was not driving the kind of results that our clients needed to help initiate serious social reforms.
BPI Chicago also needed a website that was easy to manage and update as needed. On the social justice front, things can change rapidly and the BPI Chicago team needed to be able to adjust their website and promote new information quickly. Their current nonprofit web design did not provide the mobility that BPI Chicago wanted as a forerunner in social equity causes.
Website load speeds across different platforms were also a major priority for BPI. Social justice causes tend to attract a younger demographic, which means that those users would likely be accessing BPI’s information through a mobile device. Therefore, the website needed to be optimized for mobile devices, and load quickly.
Another major pain point for BPI Chicago was its current search engine ranking. If their website was not ranking for their targeted keywords, they were missing out on donations, volunteers, and awareness for their organization. They needed a website that would rank higher in the search results. A lack of SEO strategy was hurting the success of their current non-profit web design.
Solution
Driving Social Change with an Integrated Web Strategy
Idea’s experts in non-profit web design approached this project with an integrated web strategy focus. Our Chicago web design team would address the issues facing BPI by proposing a new website that would support its mission. The new website would address the current issues BPI Chicago was facing and give their team greater control over their content and messaging.
Our team would also help remedy their technical and non-technical SEO so the new custom WordPress website would reach a larger audience through better search result ranking. Combined with the new website these adjustments would drive much higher traffic levels to their website and reach their desired target audience.
Custom Web Design
Implementing an Integrated Web Strategy with Top Non-Profit Web Design
This custom WordPress website would reflect the passion of their organization while presenting a professional look by leveraging modern web design themes. In addition to better reflecting their organization, their new website featured an improved UI/UX design that helped visitors find the info relevant to them. The improved organization and navigation of the website build trust with their target audience and generate better conversion rates. Trust is an extremely important factor for non-profit web design.
We built the website with the BPI team in mind, making sure that the website was easy to manage and update as needed without bogging down the website’s functionality. The BPI team could easily manage the new website without fear of breaking or slowing down the website.
The new BPI custom web design also benefits from much faster load speeds, which would also reduce bounce and increase engagement. Each page loads quickly whether the user is on a mobile or desktop device.
Our experts in non-profit web design also ensured that mobile optimization was a priority, meaning users would have the same high-quality website experience across various devices.
SEO
Optimizing SEO as Part of Our Integrated Web Strategy
While our custom web design team worked on updating the website to perform more efficiently and provide a better user experience; our team of SEO experts got to work making sure that it would rank well in search engine results. SEO improvements are a key element of a successful integrated web strategy.
We spent time completing research and analysis to find the best keyword opportunities for BPI Chicago to rank. Once we’d identified the ideal keyword list we implemented these across the website to help their pages start ranking as part of our comprehensive SEO strategy.
Throughout the new website copy, we’ve included the careful use of numerous SEO phrases that help improve BPI’s search engine rankings. These phrases help draw more traffic to the website and increase BPI’s reach.
We also made sure to improve the technical SEO of BPI’s website. This means including the right keyphrases in various title tags and descriptions, headers, and of course alt tags. Each of these attributes plays a big role in the overall integrated web strategy.
By covering all of these various areas of technical SEO the website’s overall SEO score greatly improved. The new BPI Chicago website has a score of 100 in SEO and Best Practices on Google Page Insights. With a custom web design and a top SEO strategy, BPI’s website had become a true asset to the organization.
Website Design Award
Bringing Home a Prestigious Award for Our Non-Profit Custom Web Design
After our work on BPI’s custom web design the website was entered in a prestigious web design competition that features thousands of entries from more than 60 countries, the annual Web Excellence Awards. The non-profit web design category featured numerous unique social justice and non-profit websites competing for the top award. A panel of website and activist experts consulted to determine the activism category winner, our very own non-profit web design entry, BPI Chicago.
Our custom web design work for our client won a Web Excellence award and was featured on the competition’s website for one full year. This created valuable backlinks and brought even more attention to the BPI cause.
Certified for SEO + Advertising
Free Website Redesign Checklist
Are you preparing for an upcoming website redesign? Maybe this is not your first rodeo or this will be your first website project. No matter your experience level, this checklist will help you prepare for your new website.
All our nonprofit web design services are customizable according to your unique needs. We will ensure that we learn all about your organization and needs before proceeding with a solid action plan that will meet your financial goals and growth objectives.
Integrate your existing database
For your website to produce the qualified leads your fundraising and development staff can convert into donations, it has to work seamlessly with your existing CRM. Over the past decade, we’ve successfully integrated all of the top donor/volunteer platforms, including Network for Good and Blackbaud.
Streamline online donations
When people are inspired to support your nonprofit organization’s mission, we want their user experience to be as seamless as possible. We make sure each page includes compelling calls to action and easy-to-navigate access to donation pages. Build support for short-term or long-term needs across your entire site.
Retain control of your site updates
We build it. You own it. Our goal is to build you a website you can access and control anytime you want. For companies with staff in place, we also provide WordPress training, so you are empowered to make updates on your terms.
Craft a compelling message
Our professional copywriters take the necessary time to learn about your company, your industry, and how you differentiate yourself from your competition. That way, we can create SEO optimized website content that attracts qualified leads and converts them into supporters.
Offer volunteer & event registration
If you organize or host events and activities throughout the year, attendees and volunteers should be able to register online. We simplify the user experience so that the process is as easy as possible. Gather the information you need and give people an opportunity to support your non-profit organization.
Searchable resource libraries
Many non-profit organizations develop and manage a large library of important resources. We can make that information sortable, discoverable, and searchable on your website. Using an intuitive search function, your website can guide visitors to the content they need, making it more likely that they’ll return.
Nonprofit web design service
We can discuss how we can help your nonprofit organization with a better-built website for your supporters.
They took complicated content and created an attractive solution that looks professional and functions very well for our audiences.
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American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology - Chicago Healthcare Organization
Idea Marketing has been our company’s website host for many years, and we are very pleased with their services.
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The Patio - Chicago Restaurant Group
My organization worked with Idea Marketing to build a new website that better showcases who we are… We are happy and satisfied customers.
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The Grove, Inc. - Chicago Hospitality Group
Our Chicago restaurant group needed a complete website overhaul to match the new direction of our company.
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Phil Stefani Signature Restaurants - Chicago Restaurant Group
Free Marketing ROI Assessment
If you’re struggling to generate digital marketing ROI, our quick survey will show where you can make impactful changes. Understanding why your marketing isn’t working is the first step to fixing it.
We work hard to be the web agency you actually enjoy working with. You can speak directly with any team member and can tell immediately they have your best interest in mind. No bullsh*t or technical jargon. Our agency was founded in Chicago on June 15, 2009. Since then, we have grown to include talented team members in various parts of the United States. Our clients are located all over the nation including worldwide.
Matt Stewart
Matt Stewart
Creative Director
Lauren Dillmann
Lauren Dillmann
Creative Designer
Daisy Dee
Daisy Dee
Client Services Manager
Syed Naqvi
Syed Naqvi
Project Manager
Chevis Patterson
Chevis Patterson
Enterprise Architect
Natalie Dunlap
Natalie Dunlap
COO
David Griffin
David Griffin
SEO Specialist
Haley Langer
Haley Langer
Project Manager
Lia Carlin
Lia Carlin
Senior Director of Client Services
Charlie Newman
Charlie Newman
Quality Assurance Engineer
Jessie Pyne
Jessie Pyne
UI/UX Designer
Michael Clark
Michael Clark
CTO
Anderson Clark
Anderson Clark
Jr. Web Developer
Travis Cooper
Travis Cooper
Senior Digital Media Strategist
Marian Ladenburg
Marian Ladenburg
Inbound Marketing Strategist
Michael White
Michael White
CEO
David Vadala
David Vadala
Creative Director
Shreyans Jain
Shreyans Jain
Founder
Kevin Thompson
Kevin Thompson
Senior Director of Client Services
Hannah Linkenauger
Hannah Linkenauger
Social Media Specialist
Erin Karper
Erin Karper
Senior UI/UX Designer
Chase Gibson
Chase Gibson
Sales Operations Manager
Carl Widdowson
Carl Widdowson
CCO
Frequently Asked Questions about nonprofit website design
How much does it cost to design a website for a nonprofit?
This is a loaded question that requires a bit of a loaded answer. Nonprofit websites today are complex marketing tools that require a team of specialists:
Project Manager
Account Strategist
Designers
Front-end Developers
Back-end Developers
Content Writers
SEO Specialists
Similar to building a home, it first requires a plan to ensure every detail is covered. We like to call it a website roadmap.
We approach every website build in phases. The first phase is a deep interview of your company with pertinent members of your team to answer key questions to help uncover pain points, understand your goals, identify opportunities, as well as analyze the companies you are up against.
Next, we take the recommendations and knowledge gained during the first phase to craft a well-defined strategy for the custom website build. This includes the website architecture, target user personas, user journeys, brand messaging/voice, and SEO strategy which allows us to more accurately define a scope of work for the remainder of the build following the roadmap.
We will have a detailed plan as to what will be needed to build a website that not only meets your current needs, but also provides a system to grow and scale, helping to land your next big sales opportunities.
With all of that being said, our custom nonprofit websites start at $30,000. You will not find any cookie-cutter templates here and all work is done in-house by our full-time employees.
What are some examples of website design goals for nonprofits?
The best website design goals are predicated on converting engaged followers into long-term donors and on strengthening one’s mission with key supporters and relationships.
Some examples of website design goals include:
Changing a nonprofit’s UX design that simplifies information accessibility and makes it easy for users to find what they are looking for
Creating optimized website copy that engages with key users and helps them make that next step
A better payment integration that is secure and easy to navigate both on the desktop and on mobile devices
Images and content structure that tell a story and highlights the importance of the nonprofit’s mission
What are some nonprofit website design best practices?
Some of the best nonprofit web design practices include having strong calls to action that make it easy for visitors to donate, exceptional visual storytelling that makes it easy for visitors to understand and align with the mission, social media integration, and SEO optimized content that showcases the importance of your organization’s mission and outcomes.
The following are some of the essential characteristics of what every nonprofit website should include:
Secure SSL certificate that is up to date where donors feel secure sharing their payment information
A mobile-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and makes giving online quick and easy
Fast load time, and a website with a user-friendly interface
An engaging and informative blog that is SEO-optimized, so that those interested in your mission can easily find you on search engines
Powerful images that convey the end goal of your mission (happy families or healthy communities)
Easy access to information for those that need the organization’s services or those that want to work with the organization
Clear calls to action language and buttons that invite your audience to take the next step
An engaging and heartfelt “About Us” section that shows the “whys” of the mission and “hows” of the organization’s work and impact
What is the average timeframe to build a nonprofit website?
Our proven process has been continuously improved over many years of collaboration and best practices requiring each phase to be completed and approved before starting the next. We will schedule bi-weekly calls to stay on track with the project build.
Typically, the website timeframe is about 5-7 months from start to finish. Below are the stages that outline our website builds.
Branding + Content Strategy> Website Architecture> Target User Persona(s)> User Journeys> Brand Messaging / Voice> Keyphrase SEO Strategy> Define Scope of Work for the Website Build
~1 Month
Website Build> Content> User Interface Designs> Frontend Website Development> Backend WordPress Development > Launch and Final Testing
~3 – 6 Months
Included WordPress Training > One-on-one or group training> WordPress training guide > Typically plan for 60-90 minutes
