Guest Post by Anne Stefanyk at Kanopi Studios
These days, the internet changes rapidly. There are new tools, platforms, and best practices that come to light every day. Because of this, waiting for a large website overhaul project is no longer the recommended route when it comes to site maintenance.
So, what does this all mean for your nonprofit’s website and online marketing efforts?
Here at Kanopi, we work with a wide range of organizations to help them develop and maintain a successful website. We’ve found that the best nonprofit websites are those that take a continuous improvement approach to maintenance. This approach is much more valuable, especially for their sites’ long-term health.
What is a continuous improvement approach to website maintenance?
Traditionally, organizations would create their website, design it, develop it, and then push it live. It was a very straightforward and linear process, that often resulted in a “set it and forget it approach.” Basically, after launch, the site risked being neglected, with the result being a large redesign and optimization project taking place a few years later to update the site again.
Hopefully, you would update the website’s systems and tools to the most recent version, refresh content and copy to be up-to-date, ensure that all pages and series were in working order, and more. However, these large maintenance projects also cost a lot of money and could take up to 6-12 months depending on their scope, leaving a large amount of time where the site is not up-to-par.
With the modern evolution of the current online world, it’s actually much more beneficial to think of the website development process as circular instead of linear, reflecting a more continuous improvement approach.
This Kanopi article on how to make a website last states: “Don’t think about your site in terms of Strategy > Design > Development > Launch, and then let it sit untouched for a while… Instead, think of a circular process of Strategy > Implement > Learn & Iterate, where after you Iterate, you revisit Strategy again! This will translate into a site that is always being refreshed and improved without breaking the bank.”
Here are some other benefits of taking a continuous improvement approach:
All of your website’s plugins, modules, and integrated tools are up-to-date and work seamlessly with each other
Your website is always fully accessible and compliant with all relevant laws
Users can more easily explore your website, learn about upcoming projects, and access your services
Every aspect of the donor journey, like mission research on your website, is seamless
You’ll see increased online conversions, like gifts, event registrations, and volunteer signups
You’ll set your nonprofit website up for long-term success, as your website health is much stronger when it’s constantly updated
Making small, minor tweaks on a more consistent and ad-hoc basis is more manageable time-wise and labor-wise than dedicating a large chunk of time to updating everything. And, this way there won’t be moments where users visit your site to learn something new and instead are met with outdated information or even broken pages or links.
When does your website need improvement?
So, now that you know why a continuous improvement approach to your nonprofit website is essential and how it can benefit your organization and goals, when exactly do you make those critical updates?
It’s not hard to determine exactly when your website could use a little love. Here is a list of questions to ask yourself:
Has your organization or mission evolved?
Do any of your software, tools, apps, modules, or plugins need updating?
Has your industry evolved? Are there any recent news updates you should share?
Can your users find what they are looking for? How navigable is your website?
Have your website visitors’ needs changed? Garner feedback through an email survey for more insight.
Is your content presented clearly? Is anything confusing?
Is your conversion rate declining? This can be the rate for online fundraising, event registrations, or any other organizational goals.
Have your search engine rankings changed? Has your landing pages’ bounce rates increased?
Have other similar nonprofit organizations changed their approach?
Is your site fast enough? A page speed of under 2-3 seconds is recommended.
Does your site look great on mobile devices? Is it compliant with other accessibility laws?
Is your site easy to use and edit? Can different staff members access and update content quickly and as needed?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it’s a good sign that your website could use some quick maintenance. Taking care of these needs immediately rather than waiting until the last minute is much more beneficial not only to your site’s health but also to your supporters’ user experience.
What are some website maintenance continuous improvement best practices?
Ready to start taking a continuous improvement approach to your nonprofit’s website maintenance? Here are some additional tips that we recommended:
Do a SWOT analysis of your website. This will help outline any strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats you have to your site.
Map out user journeys to see how different users navigate through your site. Determine the different pathways they take and how you can improve your website to better align with these pathways.
Do a complete site audit to determine if your content is old or if there’s anything you need to update or archive.
Review major site components like your page architecture, overall design, site performance, and more.
Make small tweaks like removing links that people don’t click on, or archiving old content.
The most important part of your website maintenance plan is to always be open to learning and improving. As you continue to update and tweak your site, you’ll learn a little more about what works and what doesn’t.
Make it a habit to measure your site’s health and do data checks on a regular basis. You can even schedule user testing to make sure that your website is consistently meeting supporter needs. Work with your team to set up sprints to integrate this feedback into your site.
Wrapping Up
If you want to make your website last and ensure that your mission is a high priority, taking a continuous improvement approach to maintenance is your best bet. Don’t let your online engagements fall to the wayside and pile up your maintenance tasks to do at the last minute.
If you need any more guidance on how to track your website’s health and the small tweaks you should make, contacting a technology consultant for nonprofits can help.
About the Author:
As Founder and CEO of Kanopi Studios, Anne helps create clarity around project needs, and turns client conversations into actionable outcomes. She enjoys helping clients identify their problems, and then empowering the Kanopi team to execute great solutions.
Anne is an advocate for open source and co-organizes the Bay Area Drupal Camp. When she’s not contributing to the community or running her thoughtful web agency, she enjoys yoga, meditation, treehouses, dharma, cycling, paddle boarding, kayaking, and hanging with her nephew.
https://twitter.com/Anne_Kanopi