A nonprofit website serves more audiences than almost any small business site. A family looking for a food pantry schedule, a retiree who wants to volunteer on Tuesdays, a local business considering a sponsorship and a grant reviewer checking your governance all land on the same home page. If the site is organized around your internal departments, each of them has to dig.
This guide lays out a site map organized by audience instead, with notes on the decisions each branch requires. It ends with an intake list your staff or board can split up, because nonprofit content usually lives in several people’s heads and inboxes.
The annotated site map, branch by branch
The programs branch comes first, because it is the reason you exist. Each program that serves a different group deserves its own page explaining who it is for, when and where it runs, how to take part and whether there is any cost or eligibility rule. A youth tutoring program and a senior meal delivery program should never share one long page.
The giving branch includes a donation page and, if you offer them, pages about monthly giving, tribute gifts or sponsorships. The donation form itself runs on a giving tool or payment processor you choose; we connect the tool you already use or help you set one up, and its fees belong to that provider. The volunteer branch explains roles, time commitments, any screening steps and how to sign up.
The impact branch shows what your work produced, using only figures your organization can stand behind. The transparency branch lists your board, staff leadership and any annual reports or financial documents your board chooses to publish.
Decisions each branch needs
- ✓Which giving tool will process gifts — pick it before design, since the page depends on it
- ✓Do volunteers need screening — say so plainly so applicants know what to expect
- ✓Which impact figures are verified — publish only numbers your records support
- ✓What governance documents will you share — the board decides, not the designer
- ✓Do you serve people in more than one language — decide which pages need a second version
Pages people forget until someone asks
An events page matters if you run galas, walks or open houses more than once a year; otherwise a short note on the home page is enough. A partners or sponsors page helps when businesses support you and want to be seen doing it, but list them only with their permission. A news page works only if someone will update it at least monthly, since an empty news page signals a quiet organization.
Do not forget a plain contact page that separates general questions from program help, so a person in need does not wait behind a sponsorship inquiry. Our guide to how a donation page works covers the giving branch in more depth.
Intake checklist for staff and board
- ✓Mission statement as approved — the exact wording your board adopted
- ✓One paragraph per program — who it serves, when, where and how to join
- ✓Giving tool login and settings — so the donate button connects to the right account
- ✓Board and leadership list — names, roles and photos people agreed to share
- ✓Photos with permission — especially any image showing participants or children
Matching the map to a plan
A small organization with one or two programs can fit home, programs, give, volunteer and contact into the Launch Website at $399 for up to 5 pages. Once each program, the impact report and the board page each need their own space, the site usually falls in the Business Plus range at $989 for up to 20 pages. We write the copy from your materials and your team approves it before anything goes live.
What to expect, honestly
- ✓We do not process donations — gifts run through your chosen giving tool and its fees
- ✓Volunteer sign-up stays simple — it runs on a form or the scheduling tool you already have
- ✓We do not give tax or compliance advice — confirm donor receipt wording with your advisor
One example of what your site could look like
This is one sample we designed. Yours is built around your business, your photos and your words, and we have more examples if you want to compare directions.
What it costs
Websites are priced one-time by size, plus Website Care at $30/month for hosting, HTTPS, backups, weekly checks and A/B testing. Every package includes a consultation, mobile-friendly design, copy we write for you, a contact form, essential search setup and 10 revision rounds. Monthly SEO is an optional add-on when you are ready for it.
Optional add-ons, billed separately
The prices above are for your website. These two are separate monthly products you can add now or later. Neither is part of the website price.
Monthly SEO, from $50/month: new pages published on your site every month. See Monthly SEO →
Business Spotlight, from $30/month: articles about your business, labeled as paid, published on The Company Chronicle. See Business Spotlight →
How it works
1. Consultation
We learn your services, customers and goals, in English or Spanish.
2. We write and design
We draft the words and build the site around your business.
3. 10 revision rounds
You review and request changes until it is right.
4. Launch and care
We launch, then Website Care keeps it hosted, backed up, checked weekly and A/B tested.
Keep reading
Website design for nonprofits · What a nonprofit website costs · What a nonprofit website should include · What nonprofits should prepare
