Many of our clients come to us and ask, “Do I just need to make some minor updates to my website, or do I need to start from scratch?”
10 Years or Older
The simple answer here is if your nonprofit’s website is more than 10 years old, you probably need to start from scratch.
After 10 years, your software is more than likely out of date. Your content is probably out of date too, and you probably are not using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix. It is also likely that you do not have an SSL certificate for your website and your website is not secure.
Without an SSL certificate and the ability to deliver quality, up-to-date content, Google will penalize you in the rankings. So if your website is 10 years old or older, it’s probably time for an update.
A big update.
Between 6 and 10 Years
If your nonprofit’s website is between six and 10 years old, there is a good chance you can get away with making some big changes, but not starting over completely. You will need to evaluate your website first to decide if your website is working off the proper platform and is modern enough for that kind of update (see below for what we look for).
6 Years or Newer
If your nonprofit’s website is 6 years old or newer, you probably are in a good place, and all you need to do is update some content and graphics. You may need to refresh content and reorganize depending on how much you use your website, but more than likely your website is built on a decent CMS, which will make the process easier.
Here are a few questions we ask when deciding between a simple update vs. a complete redesign:
Is Your Nonprofit Website Using a Content Management System?
The first thing we want to look at is your Content Management System (CMS). For sites older than 10 years, you may not be using one. If you’re unsure, you’ll need to ask whoever built your original website or your site administrator. If they aren’t available, you may have to start from scratch regardless.
If your site is newer than 10 years old, you may be running on a CMS like WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix. Having a CMS makes updating much easier and may make the update/redesign simpler and less costly.
Is Your Nonprofit Website Using the Full Width of the Web Browser?
Modern website design tends to utilize the maximum width of the browser window. While it’s okay in some cases to box in your website for creative reasons, ideally you want to make sure your website design is using or at least taking advantage of the full width of the screen.
A good modern website design also is fluid when the screen is resized and images and content flow and fill their containers rather than being stuck in a rigid, boxed-in structure.
Rigid boxed designs are typical of older websites running on older code. While there are still many websites that make this mistake and haven’t updated their designs in years, it can be disconcerting for many viewers and cost you visitors.
Is your Nonprofit Website Mobile Friendly?
Take a look at your website on your phone and tablet. Do you have to pinch and push to navigate through the content on the page? If not, great! Your site is probably mobile-friendly.
If your website is rigid and not prepared for mobile, you are probably doing more than tapping and scrolling to interact with the pages. You can also test this out on your laptop or desktop by grabbing a corner of your browser window and resizing it so it’s tall and skinny. If part of your site content disappears instead of resizing with the window, your website isn’t mobile-friendly. Google will penalize where your website appears in search results if it is not responsive to mobile devices.
If your website is flexible but there are places where it may not work perfectly on mobile, write those things down and consider talking to your website designer about making improvements.
If you notice it’s not mobile-friendly, it’s time to start looking at updating your nonprofit’s website.
Is the Navigation Organized Well?
The next step is to look at your website’s navigation and content organization. When we review a website and see the navigation is confusing, overwhelming—a lot of drop-downs, or hiding valuable content, it’s usually time to look at reorganizing.
In most cases, a newer website doesn’t need a new design. Some content just needs to be moved around and navigation updated. Overwhelming navigation can be very confusing for site visitors and is often a sign of a website that’s either grown too fast or is a bit older. Modern website navigation is generally straightforward and well-organized.
Is the Content on Your Nonprofit Website Out of Date?
Ensure the content on your nonprofit’s website speaks in the voice your brand has established. Check to see if the information is current. Are you sharing timely content, or is most of the information three or more years old?
If you have old news articles and events that are no longer relevant to your current audience, you can delete those. Get rid of any out-of-date content. Also, ensure all your contact information is correct.
