A style guide is a plan that helps attract donors to you and your mission and fosters a positive perception of you and your organization.

Your website begins with this plan that covers its colors, fonts, use of logos, images, and any other relevant aspects. This style guide will be used for all your mission collateral.

Wireframing is the technical term for dreaming and planning out your website before it is built. Your website will consist of pages. Each page will have sections (or strips). Each page can have an unlimited number of sections. Pages are usually highlighted and clickable at the top.

This is the first thing visitors see when they arrive at your website from a search engine such as Google. Think of your website as valuable property or land, and this section on the home page is THE most valuable real estate on your website. 

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This is typically the second page of your website where you tell short stories about yourself and your team. 

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This page holds significant importance, second only to your header section. Your About Us page often receives the most visits but can have the highest bounce rate. The bounce rate represents the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only that page. 

65% of donors who visit nonprofit giving pages leave (bounce) without giving a gift. Engaging nonprofit giving pages never just ask donors to give to their organization, they give the donor a problem, with a specific price point, to solve.

In addition to the header, the first page of an engaging nonprofit website will have the following sections:

• Value proposition

• Engagement 

• One-liner

• Stakes section

• Introduction

• Success/failure

• Lead generator

• Values

• Services

Your stories and your organization's ongoing messages are published on this section of the website. Every time you write a beneficiary, donor, or other story, publish it here first. 

Your Contact Us page should be inviting and engaging with positive text and pictures.

Your social media profile pages should match your website/organizational branding. This inspires donors trust when they see consistency across platforms.