Nonprofit websites carry a lot of weight. They tell stories, share updates, and showcase impact. But at the end of the day, they’re also one of the biggest drivers of giving. Following a few nonprofit website best practices to improve the full experience—from content and design to data—is when you start to see what your site can really do.

If you want to turn your website into a stronger fundraising tool, keep on reading.

Turn Your Website Into a Fundraising Engine: Nonprofit Website Best Practices That Drive Giving

Most nonprofits already know the basics of digital fundraising — simple giving forms, strong CTAs, good stories. The real gains come from what happens underneath: how each page supports the donor journey, how calls-to-action connect to intent, and how data shapes decisions. Here’s where to focus.

1. Represent the Donor Journey on Each Page

Your website should guide visitors the same way a good email nurture or sales funnel does — one intentional step at a time.

• Map content by stage. Create content for each part of the donor journey: awareness (educational blogs), consideration (impact stories, data pages), and conversion (donation or signup forms).
• Use smart internal linking. Connect mission-driven content directly to relevant giving opportunities to move visitors forward.
• Design impact hubs. Build landing pages that group stories, stats, and donation options for a specific program or cause area.
• Add gentle exit-intent popups. Prompt visitors to subscribe, volunteer, or give before they leave your site.

2. Rethink Your CTAs

Strong CTAs are part of any list of nonprofit website best practices, but too often they’re treated as an afterthought. When they’re placed and written intentionally, they can completely change how visitors move through your site.

A few ways to make them work harder:

• Make them contextual. Align CTAs with the stage of someone's journey. Ex: “Help make stories like this possible” on a volunteer page or “See how your support drives results” at the end of a blog.
• Place CTAs where interest peaks. Use scroll-depth triggers or heatmap data to find where visitors engage most—content is often stronger than the footer.
• Experiment with format. Try modules, inline boxes, or brief “What happens next” panels instead of repeating buttons.
• Personalize by behavior. Change CTAs for returning visitors (“Welcome back, see what’s new”) or for those who’ve already donated (“Keep the impact going”).
• Keep them emotion-driven but clear. The best CTAs connect to outcomes, not actions. “Fuel the next chapter” means more than “Donate today.”

3. Turn Storytelling Into Proof

Storytelling creates emotion, but emotion alone doesn’t convert. Today’s donors want to see the difference their support makes. Build proof into your stories so they engage and validate at the same time.

• Show real-time impact. Add live counters (“Meals served this week”) or progress bars on campaign pages to make the impact visible as it happens.
• Use embedded thank-yous. Short videos or quotes from staff and beneficiaries add authenticity without launching another campaign.
• Keep the story going. Layer subtle CTAs inside stories — invite readers to follow a project’s progress, sign up for updates, or join recurring giving tied to that impact.
• Elements of our client and charitable partner, Pinky Swear's website.

4. Build Recurring Giving Into Your Website Journey

One-time donations might come easily, but recurring gifts can be tougher to grow. The challenge isn’t usually donor motivation; it’s accessibility and confidence. If giving monthly feels complicated, uncertain, or hidden, even your most loyal supporters hesitate.

• Design for visibility. Feature recurring options earlier in the journey—in CTAs, impact stories, and even your homepage hero.
• Show clear value. Highlight what sustained giving enables (“Every $10/month keeps a student in class”).
• Reduce friction. Preselect the monthly option, but explain why (transparency earns trust.)
• Reward commitment visually. Use badges, tiers, or mini dashboards so monthly donors see their ongoing impact when they return.

5. Track What Inspires Action

If you don’t know how people are engaging with your site, you can’t know why they’re giving—or not. Tracking and analyzing behavior is what turns your website from a static resource into a fundraising engine that learns.

Start by watching where attention goes:

• Watch where attention goes. Use heatmaps and scroll tracking tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity to see where visitors engage and where they drop off.
• Identify high-intent patterns. Look for actions like visitors viewing multiple impact stories before donating, and use those insights to build better pathways.
• Connect the dots. Set up micro-conversion tracking in GA4 for time on page, button clicks, or form starts, and link that data to donation outcomes to see which stories, CTAs, or layouts actually drive giving.

Once you see how people move through your site, optimization graduates from guesswork into strategy. Small data-backed tweaks can make the difference between a visitor who reads and one who gives.

Tools to Put Nonprofit Website Best Practices Into Action

You don’t need to reinvent your tech stack to follow nonprofit website best practices. You just need the right mix of tools to help you see, test, and optimize what’s already there.

A few of our favorites:

• Fundraise Up: Helps you personalize and simplify the giving experience — adapting to visitor behavior and removing unnecessary steps along the way.
• Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity: Show how people interact with your site through heatmaps and session recordings, helping you see what captures attention and what gets ignored.
• Google Tag Manager + GA4: Make it easy to track key on-site actions like donation form starts, completions, and newsletter signups without needing ongoing developer help.
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Build Momentum, Not Just Donations

Your website is often the first place someone experiences your mission — and the easiest place to make giving feel natural. When you keep testing, learning, and iterating, you build a site that not only drives donations but builds lasting trust with your supporters.

Want a partner to help you put this into action? Lake One works with nonprofits to build smarter digital strategies and optimize websites for real fundraising results. Just give us a shout.