Seeking inspiration for your new nonprofit website design project? We’ve got your back. We’ve searched far and wide to bring you the most beautiful, modern and original examples of nonprofit websites out there. Plus we’ve also put together our thoughts on the best practices of designing a nonprofit website. Onward!
Table of Contents
Nonprofit Website Design Inspirations
1. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Why it works: Strong yet striking statement on the hero section, clean execution of graphics, each section narrates a different mood to match corresponding story
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/
2. WWF
Why it works: Buttons for donating and adopting quickly seen upfront, elegant use of masonry grid on showcasing content
https://www.worldwildlife.org/
3. Scientist Spotlights Initiative
Why it works: Catchy and creative hero image showcasing people, qucik search function above the fold, bright calm colors shows hope and trust
https://scientistspotlights.org/
4. Upstream International
Why it works: Popular photo filters properly and beautifully applied as a theme to this website design, great photography, colorful yet clean
5. Acumen
Why it works: Striking pink/magenta color scheme, gorgeous sans-serif typography for the whole site, spacious layout
6. The Metropolitan Museum
Why it works: Minimal navigation area, gorgeous video showcasing the museum interior, very modern and organized layout
7. International Rescue Committee
Why it works: Clear and strong gift-giving widget above the fold, gorgeous header and navigation, texts very easy to read, nice yellow-black color scheme
8. Memphis Zoo
Why it works: Kid-friendly website without losing the best practices and functionalities, strong bold typography, colorful graphics
9. Jedi Collaborative
Why it works: Calm yet colorful design, clean iconography, intuitive website layout
https://jedicollaborative.com/
10. Michael J. Fox Foundation
Why it works: Outside-the-box layout design, minimal yet consistent design, subtle/soft animations create a feeling of sincerity
11. Message of Hope Foundation
Why it works: Organic shapes and strong colors complement the ‘sunny’ feel of the website very well. Website felt very positive and forward-moving
https://messageofhopefoundation.org/
12. Adapt A Love Story
Why it works: Big bold fonts used for extra legibility and usability, each section tells a different story, easy to use for everyone
https://www.adoptalovestory.com/
13. ASPCA
Why it works: One can really feel the love and passion behind this organization through colors and cute images
14. Room to Read
Why it works: Unlike the usual gloomy/sad feel of charity websites, this colorful website felt lively, hopeful, and utterly friendly
15. Creative Commons
Why it works: Big bold texts against strong colors, quick donate section, ‘explore’ section with icons works very well for quickly finding specific niches
16. Princeton Computational Imaging Lab
Why it works: Super clean typography, subtle but interesting hero video, information properly organized and bite-sized
17. Names for Change
Why it works: Very evident branding and personality, highly unusual but very memorable design, clean coding of effects and functions
https://www.namesforchange.org/
18. Greenpeace
Why it works: Quickly donate panel that’s not intrusive while remaining quickly visible, bright vivid colors, animated dotted lines make the static website feel alive
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/
19. American Heart Association
Why it works: Real clean design with lots of breathing space, great use of red color without hurting the eyes, overall a very pleasing UX
20. American Museum of Natural History
Why it works: Well-thought menus for navigation, gorgeous and eye-catching graphics and images, not crowded with too much information
21. AMI USA
Why it works: Clean light-themed website, texts beautifully laid out, organized footer for extra ease of navigation for users
22. Paws Chicago
Why it works: Interesting hero section with subsections, website colors are pleasing, artistic navigation bar
23. Wildlife Conservation Society
Why it works: Sidebar serves very well for ease of navigation, beautiful imagery, the footer is beautiful and clean
24. NRDC
Why it works: Quick donate function on header, non-traditional layout, love the stats section
25. NAWGJ
Why it works: Bold shapes with strong colors, content for each page properly organized with sidebar
26. Care
Why it works: Adding a subtle touch of graphics to images is very smart, big texts on several areas create intensity to their cause
27. Rotary
Why it works: Amazing animations and transitions, the flowing line that follows mouse scroll is just genius for storytelling
28. Open Society Foundations
Why it works: Clean simply design without sacrificing quality, not image heavy while remaining modern-looking, love the ‘where we work’ section
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/
29. Invisible Children
Why it works: Crystal-clear texts with strong contrast between elements, sticky donate button that isn’t overwhelming, accordion is a must-see
https://invisiblechildren.com/
30. Philadelphia Museum of Art
Why it works: Love the minimalistic approach of the website to showcase their articles online. Cozy, clean, and very appealing
31. Witness
Why it works: One can immediately feel the seriousness of the field they’re in just by the design alone.
32. Charity Water
Why it works: Super speedy and lightweight website with just the right amount of message delivered on the hero section
33. TED
Why it works: Entire homepage focused on delivery content for better user experience, sections and thumbnails beautifully organized without looking crowded or messy
34. Monterey Bay Aquarium
Why it works: A great cocktail experience of great photography, moving images, texts, and info, all in one page
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/
35. Convoy of Hope
Why it works: Awesome animation part in hero slider, animations creatively push content to viewer’s attention, custom iconography
36. Terra Nova Church
Why it works: Highly creative use of shapes and geometry compared to simply using photos, great typography too
37. Nashville Zoo
Why it works: A great harmony of graphics, youthful typography, and images. Splashes of colors everywhere. Design matches all ages
38. Petsmart Charities
Why it works: White-themed website with just the right splash of colors, subtle animations bring content to life, site doesn’t feel heavy despite the amount of content
https://petsmartcharities.org/
39. Valley of the Sun YMCA
Why it works: Ample contact info on the upper right, good mix of contrasting colors and images, compact yet meaningful
40. Conservation International
Why it works: Clear buttons for subscribing and donating, clean layout with texts very easy on the eyes, artful footer design
Nonprofit Web Design Best Practices
What makes a non profit or not-for-profit different from other industries? A nonprofit web design must reach out to several different groups visiting your site. It’s not just about your customers; it’s also about donors and applicants. Let us show you how we can tailor your Nonprofit Web Design project to handle all these different groups. We promise results with no risk to you.
- Identify the Needs of Your Visitors
- Which people do you need to reach?
- How will the interact with your site?
- What is your goal for each group?
- How does your website fit into your overall business plan?
After we target your audience, then we lay out a nonprofit web design that services them in the most efficient way possible. Every site is custom made so that you won’t see another website anything like yours on the web. Our customization goes beyond colors and images. We never use templates. Your design is 100% unique to your company.
Meeting the Needs of Your Audience
A nonprofit web design is more like three websites wrapped up into one. First, you must reach out to your donors. They should know your story, your needs, and how they can help. Do you collect money or sign-up volunteers? What about corporate sponsors? It’s important that you clearly communicate with these different groups and present them with easy-to-navigate calls to action.
You should also consider your “customers.” Who are the people using your services? In other words, who does your organization benefit? Your nonprofit web design should meet their needs and help them along their journey as well.
Another thing unique to nonprofits are the “events.” Most organizations host several events over the course of the year. You may need to sign up exhibitors, organize donations, and register attendees. Our non profit web design structures its content around each separate group you need to service.
Use Images to Reach Your Audience
Because you are reaching to out several different audiences, the navigation of your site must be clear right away. Donors should immediately identify where they need to go for information as opposed to someone wanting to register for an event.
Most people want to be able to scan a page and quickly find the information they need. By using a clean layout and eye-grabbing imagery, we create a website design where your visitor can quickly identify what they are seeking.
A Nonprofit Web Design Should Be Easy to Maintain
Nonprofit information seems to be always changing. Sponsored events come and go, and published needs evolve over time. Because of this, a nonprofit web design needs to be easy to update and maintain.
Do you want to spotlight an event or a client? That’s not a problem. We can put together a design that makes it easy for you to switch between events or customers at different times throughout the year.
We can show you how to do the editing yourself, saving you money. Whatever level of support you need, we are there to help.
A Mobile-Friendly Website
Every day more and more people are searching using mobile devices. Currently, over 30% of all Google searches come from smartphones or tablets. Starting in 2017, Google plans to make their mobile rankings their primary source for all search results. In plain language, this means that if you do not perform well on mobile devices, then you see a decrease in web traffic no matter what type of device a person is using.
We optimize all our nonprofit web designs for mobile devices. They are fast and mobile-friendly. We make sure to stay on top of all the new requirements, so you don’t don’t have to worry.
Why Nonprofits Choose Us as Their Web Design Company
Nonprofits need to connect with several different groups coming to their website. We help structure your site around these groups. Visually compelling design moves them quickly to the areas they need to go and then prompt them to respond accordingly.
We recognize that the content, on a nonprofit site, changes frequently and so we make our designs easy to edit and update. We want to make it so that you don’t feel the need to call your web designer every time you want to change a date or add a new event.
Let us show you what’s possible. Unlike other nonprofit web design firms, we show you exactly what your website will look like before you ever sign or pay for a thing.
That’s right. There is no hassle and no risk. What do you have to lose? To find out what’s possible, just click below and learn more about our Free Mockup Offer.
