Your Website

Planning & Format

You know the saying about a tree falling in a forest and if nobody is there to hear it…? Well, that axiom can be applied to website development. If you don’t design and promote your website properly, then you may end up with a website that goes unnoticed or unused.

dot org Web Works will get you noticed with a web presence that truly reflects the essence of your organization’s services, programs and mission. We’ll also construct the site to be as SEO-friendly as possible, assuring a good chance at proper organic positioning within the big search engines.

But before we’re ready to showcase you to the world, we have some basic questions that will need to be answered: // Who is your audience? // What is the purpose of the website? // Which functions should it have? And, // What content should be in the website?

The Starting Point

The best place to begin is to establish the site’s primary target audience. Are they donors, members, clients, volunteers, professional peers, event goers, the general public — or are they something else? Next we help determine what the primary purpose of the website will be. Is it to raise funds or awareness, to inform, to steer people to events — or for another purpose? (A special design questionnaire will facilitate all that.)

Once your core audience and purpose is identified, we then begin the process of building your website. Key components include:

  • Creating the web site organizational structure.
  • Customizing your design (each web site is created to reflect the service and personality of your organization), which may include several specialty applications.
  • Building the web (either in traditional HTML with style sheets, and/or by employing the WordPress platform).
  • Testing your site to confirm that it is cross-browser friendly with the popular versions.
  • Helping you select and an appropriate web host service provider.
  • Re-designing your logo.
  • “Maintaining“options/options-maintenance and upgrading your site as needed.

Initial Planning

Preparing the content for your web site requires proper planning, not just for what should be included now, but for what may be added later. The decisions you make now will lay the foundation for a long-term, consistently effective web presence.

Format

The format for an organization’s first web site is often like a dynamic brochure, with the content often actually gleaned from existing publications. Once this initial phase is completed, you’ll be able to build upon it quickly. Do you want to stream your Facebook page, or Twitter account? Have featured articles? They’re many options to consider. Our passion is to build the best website for your audience, thus creating the comprehensive outreach and development tool you envision.

Website Options

As touched on above, there are essential items for any nonprofit website, and optional items to consider for your custom website. Let’s begin with the essential items.

To view our options, please visit the following:
Essential Website Items List
Website Items to Consider

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