Nonprofit Website Content: What to Put on Every Page

You know you need a website. You might even have the design picked out. But now you're staring at a blank page labeled "Homepage" and you have no idea what to write.

You're not alone. Content is where most nonprofit website projects stall. The design is the fun part. The content is the hard part. This guide gives you a page-by-page framework so you can stop guessing and start writing.

Use this as a literal checklist. Print it out, work through it page by page, and you'll have a complete website content plan by the time you're done.

Homepage

Your homepage has about five seconds to answer three questions: Who are you? What do you do? How can I help?

Above the fold (what visitors see before scrolling):

• One-sentence mission statement. Not your legal mission from your 501(c)(3) filing. A human version. "We provide meals and mentorship to homeless youth in Austin" beats "Our organization is dedicated to addressing food insecurity and social development among unhoused adolescent populations."
• One impact stat that makes people stop scrolling. "12,000 meals served last year" or "94% of our students graduate high school."
• Primary call to action: a donate button. Make it visible, make it obvious, make it work on mobile.

Below the fold:

• Secondary call to action: "Get Involved" or "Volunteer" with a brief description of what that looks like.
• Social proof: logos of funders or partners, a short testimonial from a client or donor, a quote from a news feature.
• A brief overview of your programs (2 to 3 sentences each, linking to full program pages).
• A recent impact story or news update to show the site is active and current.

What to leave off the homepage: Your entire history. Your full board list. Long paragraphs about your theory of change. Save these for the About page.

About Page

Your About page is the second most visited page on most nonprofit websites, right after the homepage. People come here to decide if they trust you.

Origin Story

Tell it like a human, not a grant application. How did this organization start? Who saw the problem? What did they do about it? Keep it to two or three short paragraphs.

Bad: "Founded in 2008, our organization was established to address systemic inequities in educational access across underserved communities."

Better: "In 2008, our founder Maria Chen was tutoring students at a community center and noticed something: half the kids couldn't do their homework because they didn't have internet at home. She started a Wi-Fi lending library out of her garage. Today, we connect 3,000 families to broadband every year."

Team

Show real photos of real people. Not stock photos. If your executive director is comfortable with a headshot and a two-sentence bio, use that. If your staff prefers a casual group photo, use that.

People give to people. Let them see who's doing the work.

Financials and Transparency

Link to your GuideStar (Candid) profile. Show your most recent annual budget as a simple pie chart or bar graph. If you have a recent audit or 990 available, link to it.

This section isn't about showing off. It's about building trust. Donors, especially institutional donors, look for this.

Board of Directors

A simple list with names, titles, and professional affiliations. If your board members are comfortable with photos, include them. This page signals stability and governance.

Programs and Services Pages

Create one page per program. This is where most nonprofits make a critical mistake: they write their program descriptions for grant funders instead of for the people they serve.

For each program page, include:

A clear, plain-language description. What does this program do? Who is it for? What does a participant experience? Write it the way you'd explain it to someone at a community event.

Eligibility. Who qualifies? Be specific. Age ranges, income thresholds, geographic service area, documentation needed. Don't make people call to find out if they're eligible.

How to access it. What's the first step? Is there an application? A phone number to call? A walk-in option? A waitlist? Remove every possible barrier between the person and the service.

Impact data. How many people did you serve last year? What were the outcomes? "85% of program participants reported improved housing stability" is compelling. One or two stats per program is plenty.

A real story (optional but powerful). A short testimonial or success story from a participant, with their permission, brings the data to life. One paragraph is enough.

Get Involved Page

This page should answer the question: "I want to help. What can I do?"

Break it into clear sections.

Donate

Link to your donation page (or embed your giving form directly). Include a brief note about what donations support. "Your $50 provides one week of meals for a family of four" is more compelling than "Please consider making a generous contribution."

For detailed guidance on designing a high-converting donation page, check out our guide on donation page design.

Volunteer

What volunteer opportunities are available? What's the time commitment? Do volunteers need any special skills or clearances? Include a sign-up form or a link to your volunteer management platform.

Advocate

If advocacy is part of your work, tell people what they can do. Sign a petition, contact an elected official, share a social media post, attend a public hearing. Give them a specific action with a clear next step.

Other Ways to Give

In-kind donations, planned giving, workplace matching, event sponsorships. List everything with brief descriptions and contact information.

Impact Page or Annual Report

This is your proof page. It answers the question funders and donors ask most: "Is this organization making a difference?"

Numbers and stories, together. Lead with your top three to five impact stats for the year. Make them visual with simple graphics, charts, or large formatted numbers. Then follow each stat with a short story that illustrates it.

Downloadable annual report. If you produce a PDF annual report, host it here. Make it easy to find and easy to download.

Year-over-year comparison. If you've been tracking data for multiple years, show growth. A simple line chart of families served or students graduated tells a powerful story over time.

Keep it updated. An impact page with numbers from three years ago does more harm than good. If you can't update it annually, link to your GuideStar profile instead.

News and Blog

Only build a blog if you'll maintain it. An empty blog or one with a last post dated eighteen months ago signals neglect. If you're not sure you can post at least once a month, skip the blog entirely. A static website with current information is better than a blog that's gathering dust.

If you do build a blog, focus on three content types:

Impact stories. A participant's journey, a program milestone, a community partnership. These are your most shareable content.

Program updates. New services, expanded hours, upcoming events, enrollment openings. Practical information that serves your community.

Staff and volunteer spotlights. Short profiles that humanize your organization. These are easy to produce (a photo and five questions) and they build connection with your audience.

Contact Page

This seems simple, but many nonprofits get it wrong by providing too little information or outdated details.

Include:

• Phone number (with hours it's answered)
• Email address (a general contact, not a personal staff email that might change)
• Physical address with a map embed
• Office hours
• Social media links
• A contact form for general inquiries

Don't hide your contact information. If someone has to click through three pages to find a phone number, you've lost them.

Donate Page

Your donate page is the most important conversion page on your entire site. It deserves its own design attention.

We've written a complete guide to donation page design, but the essentials are: keep it simple, keep it focused, show impact, remove distractions, and make it work flawlessly on mobile.

Every element on your donate page should serve one purpose: making it easy and compelling for someone to complete their gift.

What Every Page Needs

No matter what page a visitor lands on, it should include these elements.

A Call to Action

Every page needs a next step. Not every CTA needs to be "Donate." On your programs page, it might be "Apply Now." On your volunteer page, it might be "Sign Up." On your blog, it might be "Read Another Story." Just don't let a visitor reach a dead end.

Accessibility Compliance

Every page must be navigable by keyboard, readable by screen readers, and usable by people with visual, motor, or cognitive disabilities. This means proper heading structure, alt text on images, sufficient color contrast, and descriptive link text.

If you're not sure whether your site is accessible, our guide to nonprofit website accessibility explains what standards to meet and how to test for them.

Mobile Optimization

More than half your visitors are on their phones. Every page needs to work on a 5-inch screen: readable text, tappable buttons, no horizontal scrolling. Test every page on a real phone before you launch.

Updated Content

Outdated content is worse than no content. A page advertising your 2022 gala tells visitors nobody's minding the store. Review every page at least quarterly and remove or update anything that's past its date.

Content Mistakes to Avoid

These patterns show up on nonprofit websites constantly. They're easy to fix once you spot them.

Jargon. Your community doesn't know what "capacity building" or "systems change" means. Write for the person you serve, not for your program officer. Save the grant language for grant applications.

Passive voice. "Services are provided to families in need" is weak. "We serve 500 families every month" is strong. Name who's doing the work and who's benefiting.

Stock photos instead of real images. A stock photo of diverse people smiling around a conference table doesn't build trust. A slightly blurry photo of your actual volunteers sorting donations at your actual warehouse does. Real always beats polished.

Walls of text. Break up long paragraphs. Use headers, bullet points, and white space. If a page makes you scroll for thirty seconds without a visual break, rewrite it.

Outdated information. Old event listings, departed staff members, discontinued programs. These details tell visitors your site isn't maintained. Audit your content regularly and remove anything that's no longer accurate.

Putting It All Together

You don't need to write everything at once. Start with the pages that do the most work: homepage, about, one or two program pages, and your donate page. Get those right, and you've covered 80% of what your visitors are looking for.

Then build out the rest over time. Add your impact data when you have it. Launch the blog when you're ready to maintain it. Create the volunteer page when you've defined your opportunities.

The most important thing is to start. A website with five strong pages is better than a website with fifteen mediocre ones.

For a broader look at what makes a nonprofit website effective, read our guide on what makes a good nonprofit website.