A nonprofit website has an important job: help people understand your mission, find the information they need, and take action.

That action might be making a donation, volunteering, registering for an event, accessing services, joining your email list, or simply learning more about your organization.

So, what should a nonprofit website include?

At a minimum, an effective nonprofit website should include clear information about your mission, programs and services, the people you serve, your impact, ways to donate and get involved, and how to contact you. It should also be accessible, mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, secure, and optimized for search.

According to M+R's 2026 Benchmarks, 52% of nonprofit website visits came from mobile devices in 2025, making mobile usability an essential part of nonprofit website design.

Here are 12 essential elements every nonprofit should consider.

1. A Clear, Purpose-Driven Homepage

Your homepage is often the first interaction someone has with your organization. Visitors should be able to understand what you do and who you serve within seconds. Your nonprofit homepage should include:

• A clear headline explaining your mission
• A brief description of what you do
• Who you serve
• A prominent call to action
• Links to programs or services
• Impact information
• Stories or testimonials
• A clear way to donate
• Important announcements or upcoming events

Don't try to tell your organization's entire story on the homepage. Instead, use it as a starting point that guides visitors toward the information or action that's most relevant to them.

Ask yourself:

"If someone who has never heard of our organization landed on our homepage, would they understand what we do and what they can do next?"

If the answer is no, your homepage needs work.

2. About Information That Builds Trust

People want to know who is behind a nonprofit before they donate, volunteer, partner, or recommend its services. Your About section should go beyond a mission statement. Consider including:

• Your mission and vision
• Your organization's history
• Leadership and staff
• Board of directors
• Communities you serve
• Your values
• Partnerships or affiliations
• Relevant credentials or accreditations

Whenever possible, introduce the real people behind your organization. Names, photographs, stories, and firsthand experience help make your nonprofit more credible and relatable.

3.  Clear Program and Service Information 

One of the most important questions your website should answer is, "How does this nonprofit help people?"

Give each major program or service enough space to clearly explain what it does. A program page should answer:

• What is the program?
• Who is it for?
• Where is it available?
• How does it work?
• How can someone access it?
• Is there an eligibility requirement?
• Who should they contact with questions?

Write these pages for the person who needs the service, not for someone who already understands your organization.

This is especially important for nonprofits that serve multiple audiences or communities.

4. Information for the People You Serve

Your website shouldn't be designed only for donors.

Depending on your mission, your audiences may include clients, families, caregivers, students, seniors, volunteers, donors, businesses, community partners, and more. Make it easy for visitors to identify themselves and find the information they need. For example:

Looking for Services?
Find assistance, eligibility requirements, locations, and how to get started.

Want to Volunteer?
Explore current opportunities and sign up.

Want to Give?
Learn how your donation makes an impact and make a secure gift.

Audience-focused pathways can make a complicated nonprofit website much easier to navigate.

5. A Simple Donation Experience

If fundraising is part of your nonprofit's strategy, your donation page deserves special attention.

Your Donate button should be easy to find, and the giving process should be simple. Your donation page should include:

• A clear explanation of how donations help
• One-time and recurring giving options
• Suggested giving amounts
• Secure payment processing
• Mobile-friendly functionality
• Multiple payment methods when appropriate
• Tax receipt information
• A clear confirmation after giving

Recurring giving is particularly valuable. M+R's 2026 Benchmarks found that monthly giving accounted for 27% of nonprofit online revenue in 2025.

Don't just ask people to give. Show them what their gift can accomplish. For example: $50 can help provide essential supplies to a family in need. 

Specific examples can make the impact of a donation easier to understand.

6. Ways to Get Involved

Not everyone who visits your website is ready to donate, and that's okay.

Give visitors other ways to support your mission. Your website might include:

• Volunteer opportunities
• Events
• Advocacy
• Corporate partnerships
• In-kind donations
• Monthly giving
• Peer-to-peer fundraising
• Memberships
• Newsletter signup
• Social media

A strong nonprofit website recognizes that people support organizations in different ways.

7. Impact Stories and Results

Your website should demonstrate the difference your organization makes.

Don't rely entirely on statements such as, "We are making a difference in our community."

Show it.

Use:

• Impact statistics
• Success stories
• Testimonials
• Case studies
• Photos and videos
• Program outcomes
• Annual reports

For example, 1,250 families served is more meaningful than, "We help families in our community."

Better yet, combine the statistic with a real story that shows what that number means to an individual or family. Statistics demonstrate scale. Stories demonstrate impact.

Together, they create a much stronger picture of your mission.

8. An Events and News Section

If your nonprofit hosts events or regularly shares updates, make that information easy to find.

An events page should provide:

• Event name
• Date and time
• Location
• Description
• Registration information
• Cost, if applicable
• Contact information

A news, blog, or resource section can provide another important function: answering questions your audiences are already asking. For example, a nonprofit serving caregivers might publish:

• How to Find Respite Care
• What Financial Assistance Is Available for Family Caregivers?
• How to Create a Caregiving Plan

This type of useful content can help people discover your organization through search, even before they know your nonprofit exists.

9. Accessibility

Your nonprofit website should be usable by people with disabilities.

The World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide internationally recognized recommendations for making web content more accessible. As W3C explains:

"Following these guidelines will also often make your web content more usable to users in general."

Important accessibility considerations include:

• Alternative text for meaningful images
• Keyboard navigation
• Sufficient color contrast
• Descriptive links
• Logical heading structure
• Accessible forms
• Captions for videos
• Readable text
• Compatibility with assistive technologies

Accessibility isn't simply a technical issue. For nonprofits, it supports the fundamental goal of making your organization and its information available to the people you serve. 

10. Mobile-Friendly Design

More than half of nonprofit website traffic now comes from mobile devices.

M+R's 2026 Benchmarks found that 52% of nonprofit website visits came from mobile devices in 2025. Your website should therefore make it easy for mobile visitors to:

• Navigate
• Read content
• Find services
• Make donations
• Complete forms
• Register for events
• Find your phone number
• Access resources

Don't simply make your desktop website "fit" on a phone. Consider the entire mobile experience.

11. Search- and AI-Friendly Content

Your nonprofit website needs to be findable.

Search engine optimization (SEO) helps people discover your organization when they search for information, services, or solutions related to your mission. Important SEO elements include:

• Relevant keywords
• Descriptive page titles
• Clear headings
• Search-friendly URLs
• Internal links
• Descriptive image alt text
• Location-specific information when appropriate
• Useful, original content
• Fast-loading pages
• Mobile-friendly design

But today's search landscape goes beyond traditional Google results.

People increasingly ask questions in conversational language, including questions such as:

• "What nonprofit organizations help seniors in Houston?"
• "Where can I find food assistance for my family?"
• "What should a nonprofit website include?"
• "How can I volunteer with a local animal rescue?"

Google's guidance for AI Overviews and AI Mode emphasizes that existing SEO fundamentals continue to apply to AI search. Google recommends helpful, reliable, people-first content and says there are no additional technical requirements or special schema required specifically for AI features.

How can nonprofits prepare for AI search? Answer the questions your audiences are actually asking. Use clear headings, concise answers, useful examples, original information, statistics, and first-hand expertise.

In other words:

Write for people first. Make the information easy for search engines and AI systems to understand.

12. Contact, Trust, and Transparency Information

Make it easy for people to contact your organization and verify who you are.

Your website should clearly provide appropriate information such as:

• Phone number
• Email address
• Physical location
• Contact form
• Office hours
• Leadership information
• Board information
• Annual reports
• Financial information
• 501(c)(3) information
• Privacy policy

Visitors shouldn't have to search through several pages to figure out how to reach you. And if you're asking people to trust you with their money, time, or personal information, make your organization's credibility easy to verify.

What Makes a Good Nonprofit Website?

A good nonprofit website isn't necessarily the one with the most features. It's the one that makes it easy for the right people to accomplish the right things. A donor can give. A volunteer can sign up. Someone who needs help can find services. A community partner can learn how to work with you. And someone who has never heard of your organization can discover you through search.

That means a successful nonprofit website combines:

• Clear messaging
• Intuitive navigation
• Useful content
• Strong calls to action
• Easy online giving
• Accessibility
• Mobile-friendly design
• SEO
• AI-search-friendly content
• Trust and transparency

Nonprofit Website Checklist

Use this quick checklist to evaluate your current website:

Content

Engagement

User Experience

Search

Trust

Is Your Nonprofit Website Doing Its Job?

Your website should do more than tell people that your nonprofit does good work.

It should help:

• them experience your mission digitally

• a donor understand why their gift matters

• a volunteer find an opportunity

• someone in need find your services

• a community partner understand your organization

• someone searching online discover you

Creating that kind of website requires more than attractive design. It requires thoughtful strategy, clear content, accessible technology, strong SEO, and an understanding of the people your organization serves.

Your website should work as hard as your mission does.

Sources and Further Reading

• • • M+R Benchmarks 2026 — Website Performance — Nonprofit website traffic, mobile usage, and online fundraising benchmarks.
    • M+R Benchmarks 2026 — Fundraising — Online giving and recurring donation benchmarks.
    • W3C — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 — International accessibility standards for web content.
    • Google Search Central — AI Features and Your Website — Guidance for Google AI Overviews and AI Mode.
    • Google Search Central — Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content — Guidance for creating useful and trustworthy content.