Your Organization’s Website Should be Catalytic — and Custom

It’s no secret that to reach your true impact potential, you can’t tackle it alone. It’s why you recruit supporters, nurture a community, and relentlessly fight for more resources — anything to get you one step closer to your organization’s vision.

So why do you still hobble around on a less-than-optimal website?

In today’s digital-first world, your website is the face of your organization. It’s the main ingredient in your credibility. And it’s where everyone who doesn’t already support you discovers why they should.

Your website needs attention in order for your mission work to be possible. And you know better than anyone that sparking long-lasting, positive change doesn’t come easy. Luckily, there are people, methods, and tools you can turn to that make it easier and more within reach.

Is Now the Time to Upgrade Your Social Impact Organization's Website?

Most organizations lack the necessary budget that allows for a customized website (and the digital wizardry to match) when they’re first starting out.

But eventually there comes a time to leave the templated, drag-and-drop worlds of Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, etc. and go all in on a tailor-made website. When that time comes, turning to an agency who knows the nuances of the social impact space to craft your bespoke website is the smartest decision you can make.

You’ll know it’s the right time to switch to a custom website when:

• You're gaining serious ground in your work (but still struggling to gain enough supporters or investors)
• You’re less worried about your budget than you used to be
• You’re finding you have a lot to tell your audience on a more frequent basis

Unfortunately, a lot of social impact teams hang on too long to their templated web world even though their cause is gaining ground or they just received a huge grant.

But this is a mistake. Because the longer you wait to upgrade, the longer it will take to increase your revenue, expand your reach, and light the proverbial spark. Because in today’s computerized culture, not embracing the digital revolution can be the difference between making incremental progress (at best) and transformational change.

9 Reasons a Custom Website Takes Your Mission Further

Once your organization is in a good place where you’re seeing growth and you need to keep it going, a custom website will be what pushes your cause even further. After all, it’s your website that influences everything from your revenue stream to your volunteer numbers.

A customized solution from a social impact agency, in particular, makes all the difference. Here’s why.

1. You need reliable revenue.

Your website is the only place to secure sustainable streams of revenue. From your membership program to your donation platform, garnering donations or securing investments is virtually impossible without a robust, modern website tailored to your specifications.

2. Your time is precious.

Your team is already stretched thin. At some point, you need to outsource work. Partner with an agency to design and maintain your digital platform. They’re experts and will do it right — faster. And your team will be freed up to better focus on the important change-making work at hand.

#3: A JAMstack approach supercharges everything.

A modern social impact website includes scroll-stopping content, a donation platform or marketing automation platform, a donor management tool, metrics, and more. That’s a lot to juggle and integrate sans JAMstack. JAMstack is our approach to web development. It allows for improved performance, stronger security, increased flexibility, greater scalability, and reduced costs. All that wrapped up in a low-maintenance package.

#4. Credibility is crucial.

Your team is not made up of designers or developers. So why would you position anyone without design expertise to design your website? Remember, credibility rests on the shoulders of your website. That means it must look and act the part.

#5. You need synergy and strategy.

Without an external team managing your digital presence, you’ll be hard-pressed to build a synergistic machine — think cohesive messaging, social media, email, and other content woven together. Those strategic details are easy to overlook for an already at-capacity staff. An outside creative agency with social impact expertise pushes your team to think through a well-rounded strategy, wrapping it all into a unified digital presence.

#7. Content is king.

Today’s attention-and-algorithm economy is tough to break through. Scroll-stopping content like blogs, videos, and interactive pieces can get you the recognition you need. A custom website is better able to handle these large loads of content. And as you build your cache of content, more bandwidth will be your best friend.

#8. Your differentiator depends on it.

Because of that tough attention-and-algorithm economy, your differentiator matters more than ever. Engaging your audience starts with capturing their attention — and after a while, templated websites start to look the same. Your brand story can’t speak to your audience as effectively when it's constrained to a template. And your brand’s story is your differentiator.

#9. Personalized website user flows are liberating.

Imagine being able to tell your story, spread your ideas, and share your valuable insights better. Not to mention the ability to move supporters or customers seamlessly from your content to your digital action center. A custom website means you can do it all, easily.

Leaping From Template to Custom is Imperative — and Not a Lonely Endeavor

As digital becomes fully embedded in our daily lives, your website is increasingly important. It’s your first impression, that one split-second chance to capture your audience’s attention and convince them to link arms with you in support.

And here’s the thing: A templated website doesn’t command the same action as a custom one does. Try as it might, your templated web design platform will never be able to accurately portray your organization the exact way you need it to in order to move the needle on your cause and show your work's value.

You know what you need to do. You owe it to your cause, your audience and your future community to transform your web presence into a catalyst for change.

We’re ready to take the leap. Are you?