An effective non-profit arts website

For most non-profit organizations, having an effective online presence is vital for the sustainability of their organization.

Within the arts, non-profit websites need to remain interesting as well as influential in order to thrive and fulfill their missions.

There are a few core principles to launching and running an effective non-profit, arts website. Obviously the website must, first and foremost, be accessible. Here are a few important tips for improving your website's effectiveness:

Accessibility involves a range of factors from the web hosting infrastructure up-time and security to clear, organization site structure and navigation. Originally, web accessibility applied to people with disabilities, but it extends to all people in how they perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web. Additionally, accessibilities extends to devices as well. Does your website work for traditional computers, as well as mobile devices and tablets.

Branding & Design of your non-profit arts website is critical to influencing how people perceive your organization and wish to support it. The website design should feel contemporary and appropriate to the organization's mission and purpose. If your organization is charged with representing cutting edge arts, your website should correspond to those principles from a "design perspective." Or (for example), if your organization uses public funds for it's survival, then the design of the site should convey clarity of purpose and transparency of delivery.

Navigation is part of your organization's core messaging, as well as an element of accessibility for the website. Even navigation, itself, needs to express your organization's purpose in addition to making it easy for users to find information.

Content management & publishing workflow are critical to arts organizations of all sizes. From small organizations to large ones, your website should be easy to update and have a comfortable administrative system that encourages staff to publish content and keep the website relevant.

Spotlight the arts & works that your organization is proud of. How users browse and access this spotlight is vital. The visual impact of this section is useful in making your site interesting for both new and repeat visitors. If you are a visual arts organization or music or other, this section will be a good candidate for building links from outside websites and for sharing among users, which may make social sharing tools a good option for helping to market this section.

A few more tips to consider with non-profit arts websites...

• Try to understand what your users are looking for when they search online
•  Share your mission: Keep your mission at the forefront of the user's journey throughout your site. This will help build trust and inspire support.
• Make your support page have an emotional impact & make it easy to give and connect.
• Connect analytics to your website and understand your site's performance within the market.

Ironpaper works with many non-profit organizations, helping to build websites, apps and implement an effective web strategy.