Nonprofit Web Design & Development Services
Need help designing a nonprofit website that stands out?
Our Unique Approach to Nonprofit Web Design
At Cornershop Creative, nonprofit website design is our specialty – and we make it a fun, collaborative process. Whether you need a modern design, better digital engagement, or improved technical infrastructure, we bring your nonprofit’s vision to life. We build solutions tailored to your unique goals through a combination of creative design, thoughtful development, and expert project management.
Discovery
Our projects are built on careful listening. When you start working with us, our team will get to know your vision for the website, take a data-driven approach to understanding how your constituents use your website now, and dig into the functional considerations for your site. We gather as much creative and technical information as possible to begin planning your organization’s new website.
Information Architecture and Content Organization
We start by taking your nonprofit’s goals and audience needs, and combine those with analytic information about how your site is currently being used, and create an organized and effective site map. We map out a clear site structure to ensure intuitive navigation and logical content flow. Content is carefully organized into relevant categories and pages to make key information easy to find and encourage intentional engagement. Our approach ensures that both content and functionality align seamlessly with your organization’s mission and goals, and with the needs of your unique audiences to provide you with a new nonprofit website design that’s as beautiful as it is effective.
Design
We’ll begin designing your nonprofit’s website using the information gathered in the discovery phase and any branding you have available. Here’s what that process looks like:
Finally, we put it all together and create design mockups that give you an idea of how your finished website will look.
- First, we start with your organization’s branding, and what you told us about your aesthetic during the discovery process. We investigate sites you like to learn more about your preferences, and we begin to develop draft design documents like style tiles and wireframes that preview our new design concept.
- Next, we focus on the hierarchical layout to ensure that visitors can easily access the content they need.
Development
Once we have an approved site map and design plan for the website, we’ll install WordPress, the most popular and user-friendly website builder in the world. We’ll apply the nonprofit-focused WordPress theme we’ve selected, incorporate all the features your nonprofit needs (like event management, eCommerce, and member management tools), and configure the WordPress backend to make it easy for you to edit content. We expertly code the site so that it’s mobile responsive, performant, optimized for SEO, and accessible for all visitors. We can also help you integrate your site with your CRM or donation management platform.
All this work will take place on our development server at a special URL so we don’t impact your live site and ongoing operations. You’ll have this URL and can follow along as we build your site. Once you give it the green light, the site will be migrated to its live location
Quality Insurance
After development, we will run a full end-to-end test on your new site, ensuring the site looks good on all browsers and screens big and small. We’ll address any problem areas this testing uncovers to ensure the user experience is consistent and satisfying. Once the site is in good shape, we’ll coordinate our watches and pick a time to launch the site!
And then we celebrate!
Additional Areas of Website Expertise
Content Strategy & Creation
We have decades of experience analyzing audiences, creating content strategies, and writing new content that connects with people. Our team of skilled writers is happy to lend a hand and draft new site content for you. Throughout our entire process, we pay special attention to usability, readability, and optimization for search engines (SEO) with the keywords they expect to see.
We’ll spend time getting to know your organization and your existing content so that we understand your tone, and then we’ll spend the remaining time crafting content pages of your choice. As we do so, we’ll load them into the new site, where you’ll later be able to maintain them on your own.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
What’s the point of a shiny new WordPress website if people can’t find it? Redesigning your site can negatively impact your SEO results, so we focus on a few key areas of SEO throughout our process to help your site recover faster. We can also help you write SEO-optimized content and secure backlinks through guest blogging.
Content Migration
If you’re moving to a brand new website, chances are you have a lot of valuable content on your past website. We’ll systematically move that content using proven methods tailored to your specific needs. After everything is moved over, we’ll manually address formatting issues, shift things into the right places, and generally tidy the place up.
Google Analytics 4 Configuration, Reporting and Site Optimization
Google Analytics is a powerful tool, but it can sometimes be confusing. We’ll work with you to track the right data, configure reports and explorations, and analyze your site’s performance. We fine-tune your tracking along the way to ensure we’re always getting the right data we need to make positive improvements.
Web Accessibility
Web accessibility is important to our team! We follow an accessibility checklist throughout our nonprofit website design and development phases to ensure your site is accessible to as many people as possible. We’ll also write code that is compliant with Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 Level AA (and even WCAG 2.1 AAA, if you have the budget), and we’ll run the site through a compliance checker to ensure we haven’t missed anything.
Membership Sites
We design membership sites that offer personalized experiences, with features like gated content, user dashboards, and subscription management. Our team ensures a seamless login experience, intuitive navigation, and secure data handling to keep your members engaged and returning. We can even integrate with outside data sources, like Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, Luminate Online, Engaging Networks, and EveryAction.
Custom Map Development
We build sleek, user-friendly maps to meet your needs – whether it’s showcasing locations, events, or services. These maps are designed to engage visitors with clear visuals and smooth functionality, and to be easy for your team to update.
Robust Search
Our robust search solutions ensure visitors can quickly find what they need with advanced filters, keyword matching, and auto-suggestions. We customize search functionality to align with your content and audience needs, improving user experience and site navigation.
Custom AI Chatbots
We develop custom AI chatbots that enhance engagement by answering visitor questions in real-time. Our chatbots are tailored to your mission, providing personalized responses, guiding users to direct answers and resources, and reducing support workload while improving satisfaction.
The Cornershop Creative Advantage
At Cornershop Creative, we want to see your organization succeed. That’s why through all our web design and development work we prioritize:
Your Perspective & Constraints
We understand nonprofits—the importance of your mission and how much a great website can positively impact your work. We also know that organizations like yours have to keep budgets and deadlines top-of-mind. We bring our tech know-how and listening ear to the table and partner with you to get your website where you want it to go.
User Experience
We love intuitive design and believe that your nonprofit’s website should be easy to use and engaging. We work to understand your specific audiences and stay up to date on what users want so that your website visitors will keep coming back for more. And since every audience is different, we often get your audiences’ advice before proceeding with any plans. But we don’t stop there: we also value *your* user experience as an administrative user who needs to add and edit content on the site, so we optimize the backend to ensure your workflow is as easy as possible, and provide you with thorough training and documentation.
Efficient & Responsive Project Management
When you work with us, you have a single point of contact who’s in touch throughout the entire project—your dedicated Project Manager. They check in with you every step of the way, meeting with you regularly, getting your feedback, and ensuring we’re on track to launch a site you love.
The Cornershop Creative Advantage
At Cornershop Creative, we want to see your organization succeed. That’s why through all our web design and development work we prioritize:
Sample Projects
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Building Inova Health Foundation’s New Fundraising Campaign Site: A Digital Platform Showcasing Impact & World-Class Care
Inova Health Foundation is the fundraising arm of the Inova Foundation, Northern Virginia’s leading nonprofit healthcare provider.
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A New Website Supports the Growth and History of Marine Toys for Tots
Through the gift of a new toy or book, Marine Toys for Tots brings the joy of Christmas and sends a message of hope to disadvantaged children throughout the United States. Cornershop was well acquaint…
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Navigate STL Schools Website Makes a Tough Decision Easier With Robust Functionality
Navigate STL Schools helps St. Louis families learn about the local school system and the options available to them. Our team loved getting the opportunity to help them build a website that better ser…
Nonprofit Web Design Service FAQ
Who owns the website and the code once the site launches?
You do! Once the project is completed, your organization fully owns the website, the design assets, and any custom code. We configure the WordPress backend to make it easy for your team to add and edit content, giving you control over your nonprofit’s web presence. So, you are free to make any changes you need.
We alsoprovide thorough training and documentation, so your staff feels confident adding new pages, posts, and media. The training is recorded, so you’ll be able to provide these resources to future staff. Don’t worry though. Our expert WordPress team is always available to support your site with our WordPress maintenance and support services, ensuring your site remains updated and optimized.
Will our nonprofit website be mobile-friendly and accessible?
Yes. We design every site to be fully responsive, ensuring it looks great on all devices, including mobile, tablet, and desktop. Furthermore, we prioritize web accessibility, following Section 508, ADA, and WCAG 2.2 Level AA guidelines so your mission reaches the widest possible audience.
What about security? Will our donor data be safe?
We understand that nonprofits handle sensitive data. That’s why security is one of our top priorities. We build nonprofit sites using secure coding best practices and use hosting environments with the highest levels of security that include SSL certificates and firewalls. We require all client sites to use multi-factor authentication and strong passwords for logins to ensure your website is safe. Furthermore, all donation integrations (like Salesforce or EveryAction) process payments off-site or via secure tokens with PCI-compliant services, meaning sensitive data is never stored within or transmitted from your WordPress database.
If your organization handles extra sensitive information, we can provide even more advanced security measures to encrypt user data, provide advanced firewalls, and fully lock down the administrator interface.
Who handles website hosting?
We take care of all your hosting needs. Our preferred hosting partner is Kinsta. Kinsta is built specifically for WordPress, delivering excellent performance, strong security, and reliable uptime. Their platform is fast, scalable, and thoughtfully priced for the quality it provides. Hosting with us means your site lives in an environment we trust and know inside and out, which allows us to be more proactive about performance, updates, and support.
That said, hosting with us is optional. We’re comfortable working across a wide range of leading WordPress hosting providers and can support whatever setup best fits your needs. This includes Pressable, WordPress VIP, Pantheon, WP Engine, SiteGround, and many others.
How much does nonprofit web design and development cost?
Pricinga website is a lot like pricing a house—it depends on the size, materials, and custom features you want to include. A simple site for a small local charity will cost significantly less than a large, multi-site network for a national organization.
Because we build custom WordPress solutions rather than using generic templates, our pricing is tailored to your specific needs. We’ll meet with you to discuss your wishlist and your budget, and then create a proposal that bridges the gap between the two. Contact us to get a quote for your site.
Contact Us for a Personalized Proposal
Let’s talk about your website needs and how we will approach your nonprofit web design and development project to build a site that advances your mission.
