Small changes, big impact: The power of a nonprofit website audit

Nonprofit organizations are under constant pressure to do more with less. And most nonprofits know that a strong, up-to-date website can help them do that. 

But updating or developing a nonprofit website is no small feat. Limited budgets, decision paralysis, resistance to change, and a lack of in-house expertise are just a few of the hurdles teams face.

The good news? While sometimes, it does make sense to redesign your nonprofit website completely, there are tons of small changes you can make to drive a bigger impact without requiring a major investment or a total overhaul of your systems.

If your budget is tight, and the cost of a website redesign isn’t feasible, identifying the smallest changes with the biggest return is the best way forward for your team. 

And it all starts with a nonprofit website audit!

What is a nonprofit website audit?

A nonprofit website audit is the critical first step in understanding the pain points of a nonprofit’s website. In short, an audit gives you a clear picture of what parts of your website need attention and a roadmap for fixing the most critical issues first.

An audit covers various aspects of your nonprofit’s website, but generally, it focuses on:

Key Page Review: A thorough evaluation of all your essential web pages, looking at brand consistency, content strategy, user experience, and accessibility. (This ensures that your most critical pages align with your mission and engage your audience effectively.)

Process Evaluation: An in-depth analysis of user workflows and processes, identifying friction points or inefficiencies that could hinder user interactions.

User-Centric Navigation Assessment: A detailed review of your site’s navigation structure, informed by user behavior and feedback. This helps uncover issues that may be making the site difficult to use.

Website audits are based on user feedback and behavior data. Because they highlight pain points from the user’s perspective, they cut through assumptions, opinions, and gut feelings about what’s working and what’s not and identify the actual issues your website’s users face. Then, they prioritize those issues based on impact, urgency, and feasibility. 

This data-driven approach reduces the risk of making costly changes that don’t solve your nonprofit website’s core problems. And, it ensures that your nonprofit’s limited resources will be focused on the areas that will drive the most significant results.

4 key benefits of a nonprofit website audit

Website audits are beneficial to nonprofits because they allow organizations to:

#1 Make critical improvements faster

Incremental improvements can be completed much faster than a total overhaul can! Your nonprofit will see results sooner and address urgent needs and feedback faster.

#2 Reduce risk

A complete website overhaul can be risky. Potential issues include extended downtime, unforeseen bugs, or changes your existing users don’t like (and don’t want to adopt), which can expand your project’s scope and budget while opening your team up to more headaches.

By focusing on smaller, iterative changes, your nonprofit can make updates little by little, without disrupting your entire digital presence or your team’s daily workflow.

#3 Address specific issues

When you start from scratch, you make sweeping changes without knowing if they are the most critical ones. In other words, you risk fixing what’s not broken. (Or breaking what worked!) 

With a gradual, audit-led website update, you can make more meaningful changes that directly align with your user’s needs and behaviors. These small but impactful changes make your site more accessible and engaging, which enhances its effectiveness and leads to a better, more satisfying user experience.

#4 Build momentum with quick wins

Achieving small, incremental wins motivates teams to keep going! Each successful change you make demonstrates progress, which creates a sense of accomplishment and keeps stakeholders engaged and supportive. This can lead to bigger budgets for more improvements and even more impact down the road.

Nonprofit Website Audits: A step-by-step checklist

A successful nonprofit website audit will cover all of the following:

1. Brand Context

2. Website Analytics

3. User Pain Points

4. Key Web Page Review

5. Process Review

6. Navigation Strategy

7. Content Strategy

8. Accessibility

Keep reading for more details on each phase of the audit. 

Brand context

We begin by reviewing your nonprofit’s brand guidelines and checking for consistency across your website. This includes elements like colors, logos, typography, and tone of voice. 

Next, we review your organization’s broader goals and the website to see if it helps meet them. And, we identify the key segments of your audience (e.g., donors, volunteers, beneficiaries), and their needs when using your website.

Website analytics

We analyze data from tools like Google Analytics to understand user behavior, looking at key metrics like bounce rates, page load times, and user flow. Then, we identify pages with high exit rates or areas where users tend to drop off, so we can fix them.

User pain points

Next, we collect and review user feedback, surveys, and support requests. We identify the recurring pain points and prioritize issues that need fixing first.

Key page review

We review all the key pages of your website, looking specifically at:

• Typography: Is the font consistent in size, style, and spacing? Does it align with your brand guidelines? Is it easy to read?

• Components: Are your buttons, forms, and labels consistent in appearance and behavior? (Consistency across components improves the user experience by making interactions predictable and intuitive.)

• Layout: We evaluate your page layouts for readability and flow. Is the content easy to follow, or is it cluttered and overwhelming? We check for any issues and see if the design adapts to all devices.

Process review

We map out the user journey for key website ​“tasks” (like making a donation or signing up for an event). If steps in the process create friction or confusion, we look to simplify them to improve your conversion rates going forward.

Navigation

We audit and test your website’s navigation on all levels, including your header and footer navigation, in-page navigation, mobile navigation, and search functionality. 

(If it’s not easy or intuitive for your users to navigate your website, we have a problem!)

Content strategy

We review all of your website’s content, looking for

• Consistent and aligned voice and tone

• Content that resonates with your audience

• Consistent language throughout

• Effective and strategically placed calls to action (CTAs)

• Readable text that’s easily skimmed

• High-quality, on-brand imagery

Accessibility

Website accessibility is crucial for nonprofits. Accessible websites aren’t just inclusive, they also perform better across devices and user needs. So we’ll wrap up your audit by checking to see if your site meets accessibility standards and is compliant with legal standards. 

Budget-friendly nonprofit tech improvements

With an audit, the goal is nonprofit website optimization. That means we focus on what’s broken — not what’s new. Focusing on specific improvements is more cost-effective and drives tremendous value. This is how we make a big impact with small changes.

In an audit, we dive deep and give you a customized list of changes prioritized based on impact and feasibility for your organization. But, there are certain changes we end up recommending again and again. We want to share these changes with you because they’re the kind of ​“low-hanging fruit” that can set your team on the path to a stronger, more effective website!

Here are some small changes your team could make today to improve the efficacy of your nonprofit website.

Website navigation

• Simplify your navigation menus

• Improve button labels using descriptive text like ​“Donate Now” instead of generic labels like ​“Submit”

Web page layout

• Reduce web page clutter and remove unnecessary elements

• Optimize line lengths for readability (For body text, aim for around 50 – 75 characters per line to make the content easier to read and less overwhelming.)

Imagery and visuals

• Upgrade low-resolution or outdated images to high-quality visuals that evoke emotion in your audience

• Compress and optimize images for web page faster load times

User experience

• Streamline forms by removing unnecessary fields and breaking them into smaller, digestible steps

• Remove intrusive pop-ups that interrupt the user experience

Process and workflow

• Review key processes (like online donations, sign-ups, and event registrations) and remove unnecessary steps or text

• Streamline the path to conversion by reducing unnecessary clicks, barriers, and redirects when a user completes a task

Website content

• Ensure your content is clear by using straightforward language, avoiding jargon, and simplifying complex sentences

• Break up text with headings, bullet points, and shorter paragraphs to make content more scannable

Mobile optimization

• Ensure menus, buttons, and links work on mobile devices

• Speed up load times on mobile by optimizing images (slow-loading pages are a major reason for mobile user drop-off!)

Accessibility

• Add alt text to make images accessible to users with screen readers

• Test and improve keyboard navigation to ensure users can move through your website using only their keyboards

SEO quick wins

• Review and optimize meta titles and descriptions for your key web pages to improve search engine visibility

• Regularly check for and fix broken links

• Ensure that headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are used logically and consistently throughout the site

Stay current with regular nonprofit website optimization

Tech improvements are an ongoing process. The goal of an audit is to iterate and improve — then start the process over again. Regular reviews and updates will be required as you improve your website and add new features. 

Here’s a simple roadmap you can use to make ongoing improvements.

1. Start with an initial website audit

Start with a thorough audit of your website that covers usability, performance, content, and accessibility. This initial audit will serve as a baseline. Use its results to identify immediate issues and set priorities, then begin working your way down the list!

2. Make your first updates

Focus your updates on one area at a time like accessibility, SEO, or mobile optimization. This will allow for in-depth improvements in each area over time. 

3. Track progress with quarterly audits

Schedule quarterly audits to assess performance, user experience, and overall health as you make website updates. Use tools like Google Analytics, heatmaps, and feedback forms to gather insights. Then, compare the findings from each audit to your baseline to track progress and ensure improvements are driving the desired outcomes.

4. Collect user feedback regularly

Gather user feedback through short surveys or polls on your site. Ask specific questions about ease of use, content relevance, and any pain points they’ve encountered.

Consider periodically conducting user-testing sessions with your audience, too. These sessions can uncover issues that aren’t apparent from analytics alone.

5. Prioritize iterative updates

Adopt an agile approach to improvements:

• Break down your larger goals into smaller tasks that can be tackled over time

• Maintain a backlog of improvement ideas from audits and feedback

• Prioritize the backlog based on the impact and effort required

• Always focus on high-impact, low-effort changes first

Make a bigger impact without a big budget.

You don’t need to dive into a massive website overhaul to see meaningful change. 

All you need to do is identify the changes with the biggest impact (and highest ROI) and make them first. This way, you’ll improve your nonprofit website without breaking the bank.

Not sure which changes those are? A nonprofit website audit should be your next step. It will help you identify the areas that need attention and prioritize the improvements that drive the most value for your nonprofit. So you can make a bigger impact—without a big budget.