Nonprofit Web Design: 3 Challenges and 24 Easy Solutions

Your website acts as more than your digital storefront—it’s the backbone of your fundraising, outreach, and supporter engagement. Yet even with the best intentions, many nonprofits struggle with websites that underperform or fail to deliver the results they’re aiming for.

Luckily, most issues stem from a few common challenges and mistakes that can be solved with the right strategy. Whether your site needs a full overhaul or a few quick wins, addressing these design pain points will help you better engage supporters, boost conversions, and drive your mission forward.

Let’s explore three of the most common nonprofit web design challenges and how to overcome them. And remember, your website isn’t a “set it and forget it” tool. Ongoing website maintenance and updates will keep it performing at its best and supporting your mission year-round.

Challenge 1: Poor User Engagement

Poor user engagement can torpedo any new goals or projects that your site needs to accomplish, and it can be discouraging when analytics show visitors landing on your pages but quickly bouncing away. Often, this is a sign that users aren’t finding what they expected or aren’t compelled to dig deeper. Engagement metrics (like average time on page) reflect how well your site guides visitors through a meaningful journey.

Common engagement problems include unclear messaging, hard-to-find content, or a lack of visual hierarchy that helps users know where to look next. In many cases, nonprofits unintentionally overwhelm visitors with too much information or don’t provide a clear path toward action.

Ways to Solve This Challenge

Improving engagement starts with understanding your audience’s needs and designing your site with them in mind. Here’s how to get started:

• Clarify your navigation. Make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for in just a few clicks. Group content logically, limit top-level menu items, and test your navigation on a mobile device.
• Prioritize your homepage. Your homepage should immediately communicate who you are, what you do, and how to get involved. Use short headlines, strong imagery, and clear calls to action.
• Make content easy to skim. Break up long paragraphs, use descriptive headings, and include bulleted lists (like this one!) so users can scan quickly.
• Use analytics to identify drop-off points. Tools like Google Analytics can help pinpoint which pages lose visitors. Use that data to improve layouts and messaging.
• Test your content with real users. Ask a volunteer, board member, or supporter to find key information on your site. Their struggles can guide you to quick improvements.

Tracking user behavior can help you increase the ROI of your nonprofit’s website, especially when you focus on opportunities for your audience to show their support, such as donating or volunteering.

Challenge 2: Poor Conversions on Your Donation Page

Online conversions drive your mission forward. If your website and donation page aren’t performing at top quality, you’re almost certainly missing out on additional support from donors.

Conversions occur when a visitor to your donation page successfully follows through and completes a transaction. This is the baseline metric on which you should judge the effectiveness of your donation page. If it’s not generating a healthy number of gifts, your donation page can be improved.

The average conversion rate for a nonprofit’s main donation page generally hovers around 11% for desktop, meaning roughly 11% of all visitors complete transactions. If your own conversion rate is low (or if you simply want to boost online revenue), take steps to improve your donation page. 

Ways to Solve This Challenge

Improving conversion rates doesn’t always require a full redesign. Sometimes, small tweaks can make a big difference:

• Simplify your form. Remove unnecessary fields and reduce the number of clicks to complete a donation.
• Use a compelling CTA. Swap out generic buttons like “Submit” with action-driven language like “Give Now” or “Change a Life.”
• Optimize for mobile. Ensure your form is fully responsive and easy to complete on a phone or tablet.
• Include trust signals. Add logos for secure payment processing, testimonials, and a short note on where the money goes.
• Make recurring gifts easy. Pre-select a monthly option or highlight how a small monthly donation adds up.

For examples of real donation pages that are getting it right, check out Cornershop Creative’s list of the best nonprofit websites, which showcases conversion-friendly designs for a variety of causes.

Challenge 3: Slow or Clunky Technical Performance

A website that performs poorly, loads slowly, or simply doesn’t work is a major liability for nonprofits. Poor performance is the fastest way to cause a new visitor to bounce away from your site, and it can actively harm your relationships with donors who get frustrated trying to find what they need.

Slow load speeds are the single most common technical issue on websites. Internet users have less patience than ever for pages that are slow to respond. If your nonprofit’s homepage, mission page, or donation form takes more than just a second or two to load, you’ve already lost the attention of a large portion of potential supporters.

Ways to Solve This Challenge

Here’s how to speed things up and deliver a better user experience:

• Compress images before uploading. Use tools like Squoosh or TinyPNG to reduce the file sizes of your images without sacrificing their quality.
• Limit third-party tools and plugins. Too many add-ons can slow your site down. Only keep what’s essential.
• Enable caching and lazy loading. These techniques help load content faster, especially for returning users.
• Use a performance testing tool. Google PageSpeed Insights can highlight what’s slowing your site down and offer recommendations.
• Choose a reliable hosting provider. Fast, secure hosting makes a big difference—especially during fundraising campaign pushes or GivingTuesday traffic spikes.

Remember, a faster website isn’t just better for users; it’s also favored by search engines. That means you’ll rank higher in relevant search results and reach more supporters.

Where to Go from Here: Smarter Nonprofit Web Design

Improving your nonprofit website isn’t just about looks. It’s about impact. Whether you’re trying to increase donations, attract volunteers, or raise awareness, your site plays a vital role in achieving your mission.

The key is to start with your most pressing challenge. That could be engagement, conversions, or performance. Then, make incremental improvements. Even small changes can lead to big results over time.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, working with a nonprofit web design consultant can be a game-changer. They understand your audience, your goals, and your constraints, and can help you build a website that works harder for your mission.