Launching a nonprofit website is a big undertaking. Yes, it’s exciting—but it can quickly become overwhelming without the right foundation. You want your site to tell your story, engage your audience, and inspire action. But without a strategic approach, even the most beautiful website can fall short.

At Inspirare, we’ve specialized in nonprofit marketing consulting and branding services for mission-driven organizations for decades—and we want to spread the knowledge.

Psst…want to see how we bring brands to life online? 

Scroll down to check out a few of our favorite website projects.

So, before you dive into design and development, here’s what you need to have in place to set your website (and your marketing) up for success.

Clarify Your Goals: What Should Your Website Do?

Let’s get one thing straight: your website isn’t a digital brochure; it’s a tool to further your mission.

Ask yourself (and your team):

• Do you want to inform your community about your services?
• Do you want to collect donations online?
• Are you looking to recruit volunteers or event attendees?
• Do you want to share stories and impact to build trust and inspire action?

Setting clear primary goals will guide your site’s design, content, and functionality. It will also help you set measurable objectives, allowing you to track your success.

Need help? Send us a message and let’s talk about your goals.

Know Your Audience: Speak Directly to the People Who Matter

You might think you want to reach “everyone,” but your messaging will be most effective if you focus on your core audiences.

Here’s what you need to explore:

• Who are the people you serve?
• What languages do they speak?
• What challenges do they face?
• What motivates them?

Use data and feedback from your community to build audience personas—detailed profiles that help you tailor content and visuals to connect authentically with diverse audiences.

For guidance on building audience personas, read Hubspot’s Guide.

Define Your Key Messages: What Do You Want to Be Known For?

Your key messages are the takeaways every visitor should understand and remember.

Stick to 2–3 concise ideas, such as:

• “We serve under-resourced youth in Central Texas.”
• “Our programs are bilingual and culturally relevant.”
• “Volunteers make our work possible.”

Strong, consistent messaging builds trust in donors, partners, and community members—and makes your nonprofit easier to understand, support, and share.

Gather and Create Your Content: What Story Are You Telling?

When most people hear the word “content” these days, they think of social media content, but it’s really so much more than that.

Your nonprofit website content should include:

• Program descriptions and outcomes
• Team bios and leadership profiles
• Photos and videos that show your work and impact
• Blog posts, newsletters, and stories from the community

Website content doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Think of your site as a living document. Start with what you have, and improve as you go.

Need help writing or organizing content? Click here to land right in our inbox.

Map Out Your Website Structure: Organize for Easy Navigation

Before design begins, draft a simple site map listing your pages and key sections. Let your content guide you.

Common nonprofit site pages include:

• Home
• About Us
• Programs or Services
• Get Involved (Volunteer or Donate)
• Events
• Blog/News
• Contact

A clear structure, like the one above, improves user experience and helps search engines and AI generators index your site, which (bonus!) boosts your SEO.

Add Clear Calls to Action (CTAs): Make It Easy to Support You

Every page on your site should include multiple calls to action (CTAs). Think about what you want visitors to do next:

• Donate now
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Volunteer today
• Attend an event

Make your CTAs visible, clear, and easy to follow.

Build Your Brand Elements: Make It Look and Feel Consistent

Don’t sleep on branding. A strong brand builds credibility, especially when you’re asking people to trust, support, or make a donation. It’s so important that we’re going to mention it again in just a few paragraphs.

A nonprofit brand guide should include:

• Logo
• Color palette
• Typography
• Brand voice and tone

Even a simple document keeps your visuals and voice aligned across your website, social media, and print materials.

Looking for free nonprofit marketing resources? Head over to the Nonprofit Hub.

But Wait—Marketing Is More Than Just Your Website.

Let’s talk about something every nonprofit team runs into… but no one prepares you for: marketing itself.

Your website is just one part of your marketing and communications ecosystem. Marketing isn’t just about social media or flyers. It’s about clear, intentional communication that reflects who you are and reaches the people who need you most.

To truly connect with your audience and grow your impact, you need a strategic approach to branding, messaging, and outreach.

Here are a few more tips to get your nonprofit marketing strategy in tiptop shape:

Tip 1: Create (and Use!) a Brand Guide

Told you we’d bring it up again! If your materials are all over the place—flyers with different fonts, Instagram posts that don’t match your website—it’s time to build a brand guide.

Here’s a look at the branding guide we built for ConnectARTE, designed to reflect their creativity, culture, and community.

Your brand guide helps you stay consistent and look professional, whether you’re applying for a grant or creating your next campaign.

Tip 2: Use a Content Calendar for Consistency (and Sanity)

Plan your posts, emails, blogs, and campaigns ahead of time, ideally on a month-by-month basis.

A behind-the-scenes look at how we keep our nonprofit clients’ messaging organized, intentional, and on-brand every month. Want support with your calendar? We’re happy to help.

This helps your team:

• Stay organized
• Avoid duplicate posts
• Balance your content mix (education, stories, asks)
• Prevent burnout

Try tools like ClickUp or Google Workspace to get started.

Tip 3: Develop a Clear Communications Plan

A communications plan maps out:

• Your key messages
• Who you’re speaking to
• Where you’ll share your message (email, social, print)
• When and how often you’ll post or send

Take a look at a slide deck we created for Chariot to help their team stay clear and consistent when talking to donors, writing grants, and sharing their mission with the public.

This plan becomes especially useful when applying for grants or working with partners—it shows you’re professional and that you’ve got your messaging strategy down pat. 

Tip 4: Skip Google Translate. Invest in Professional Translations.

If you’re reaching multilingual communities, Google Translate won’t cut it. And AI isn’t the answer, either.

Culturally relevant translations and transcreation build trust and prevent embarrassing, confusing, or offensive mistakes.

Behind every effective message is expert translation. Our team is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, and we also partner with skilled translators in many languages to help you reach your multicultural audience authentically and respectfully.

Inspirare has translated hundreds of thousands of words for nonprofit clients across the U.S. 

If you need support, we’ve got you.

Need Help Getting Started?

You don’t need a full-time communications team. But you do need a plan—and a partner who understands nonprofit missions.

If you’re ready to:

• Build a website that converts
• Strengthen your brand identity
• Write messaging that resonates
• Reach multilingual or multicultural audiences
• Plan impactful events and campaigns
• Amplify your community outreach and engagement 

…Inspirare is here to help. We help nonprofits like yours get seen, get funded, and grow.

We love what we do, and we’d love to help you do what you do best.

Contact us to learn more about our nonprofit communications, branding, and outreach services. We’d love to support your work!

👇 Want to See What Nonprofit Branding + Websites Can Look Like?

You wanted samples? You got ’em. Here are a few of our favorite websites we’ve created for mission-driven organizations:

ALAS: A full rebrand rooted in movement and transformation.

We redesigned their logo, polished their content, and built a stunning bilingual website inspired by butterflies—a symbol of migration, change, and resilience.

Texas Association of Orthodontists: A full refresh for a professional organization.

We redesigned their logo and branding, then rebuilt their entire website—including a robust directory and member portal—to better serve orthodontists across the state.

Want a nonprofit website that feels like you and works hard behind the scenes?

Let’s build it together. Send us a message to start the conversation.