Web Design Suggestions for Nonprofits Agencies
& Other Mission-Based Organizations
Layout, graphics, browser compatibility, and
access for people with disabilities

That said, I do have some very strong feelings about web design, and you should too, even if you are not a web designer yourself. You need to understand some standards of good design and be ready to demand them of whomever is going to design your web site, be it an in-house staff person, a consultant or a volunteer.

Some more fundamentals regarding web site design for nonprofits, NGOs, civil society organizations, government agencies, schools and other mission-based organizations:

• The reaction from a first-time visitor shouldn't be "Wow, look at the design!" but rather, "Wow, I immediately found exactly the information I was looking for!" or "Wow, this organization does great work!" Don't bury web page content under oh-so-many graphics. The most important thing to remember when designing your Web site is what your audiences want out of the site. Listen to your customers! If a Web site wins design awards, but your customers don't use it, it's "virtually" worthless to users. Most users will visit your Web site to find information, not graphics; information should drive the design of your Web site.

• The answers to your organization's FAQs should be immediately, obviously easy to find.

• Learning what makes a good web site often involves learning what makes a rotten web site. See websitesthatsuck.com to learn more.

• Not everyone, believe it or not, uses the latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer to browse the Internet. Your agency's Web audience is going to be diverse not only in age but also in computer and Internet capabilities. Design your site with people without the best/latest equipment and software in mind.

• Break up text into small paragraphs whenever possible, and break up huge amounts of information into separate pages, as appropriate; for instance, break up your newsletter into one web page per story, rather than putting them all into one big file.

• Many people don't like to read text on their computer screen at all, and will print out certain pages of your Web site to read offline. Therefore, it is important that each page has basic information about your organization on it, just as you would want any printed material to have basic info about your organization on it (complete name of organization, main web address, etc.).

• A professional designer may develop your site, but someone in-house or a volunteer should be able to make regular changes to the site without needing assistance of the designer. The designer should create pages that allow these changes to happen easily.

• Avoid using large or gratuitous graphics that don't add to the content of the page, or take a long time to download.

• Keep graphics to a minimum, and use them wisely. Graphics should enhance the information on the site, not be just for "show."
• The World Wide Web shouldn't be the World Wide Wait. Your web pages should load quickly for everyone, not just those with broadband.

• Many people turn the graphics function off while browsing the Web. If you have an image map, offer a text version of the menu on the page so such users can get to the information they want on your Web site.

• Much of the advice just offered makes your web site accessible for people using assistive technologies!

To learn WHY as well as how to make web sites accessible, and for extensive links on web accessibility standards, visit Knowbility.Org

 
Also see:

Art and the Zen of Web Sites

The Demise of a Terrific Web Site.

Also see Trust or Bust: Communicating Trustworthiness in Web Design, a March 7, 1999 column from Jakob Nielsen that is still valid.

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