The rapid rise of social media and mobile technology has had a profound impact on website design and email marketing, yet many NGOs have not yet adapted to the new aesthetics and functionality of a mobile, social Internet. This webinar (presented on August 23 to 1,662 NGO staff) was based upon the knowledge and experience that the nonprofit sector has gained over the last 20 years of using websites and email for storytelling and fundraising and demonstrated the importance of embracing new design and call-to-action trends.

1. Web 1.0: The Broadcast Web for Public Media
Heather Mansfield, Nonprofit Tech for Good

2. Today’s Presentation
• The Importance of Web and Email Communications
• 10 Website Design Best Practices
• 10 Email Marketing Best Practices

3. The Importance ofWeb and Email
Communications

4. • 43% of the adult global population owns a
smartphone and the number of smartphone
owners is expected to grow to 6.1 billion by 2020.
• There are currently
4.4 billion email accounts worldwide and the
number is expected to grow to 5.6 billion by 2019
– a growth rate of 26%.
• 55% of email opens are now mobile.
Must-Know Stats

5. • Email fundraising raises 27% of online revenue and
in 2015 email fundraising was up 25%.
• Email is not dead, in fact, it’s growing in popularity
and power with all age groups.
Must-Know Stats

6. Website Design Best Practices

7. 10 Website Design Best Practices
1. For your website and blog to be compatible with
desktops, laptops, smartphones, smart TVs, etc.,
your NGO must mobile-optimize your content.
WordPress.org is a
content management system for websites and blogs
. There are
hundreds of responsively designed, low cost WordPre
and freelancers available for hire.

8. 10 Website Design Best Practices
2. Prioritize images over text and provide ample
white space: pbs.org (on January 5, 2015)

9. 10 Website Design Best Practices
3. Use a large font size for title and body content:
npca.org

10. 10 Website Design Best Practices
4. Provide simple navigation and allow long scrolling:
worldwildlife.org

11. 10 Website Design Best Practices
5. Prominently feature your “Donate” button, social
network icons, and e-newsletter opt-in:
themarshallproject.org

12. 10 Website Design Best Practices
6. Use large tappable buttons for calls-to-action:
water.org

13. 10 Website Design Best Practices
7. Maximize your website and blog’s right bar:
aspca.org

14. 10 Website Design Best Practices
8. Host your blog/stories* inside your website:
audubon.org

15. 10 Website Design Best Practices
9. Use the Facebook Comments Plugin or Disqus for
blog comments.

16. 10 Website Design Best Practices
10. Ensure that your website and blog is shareable:
oceana.org

18. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
1. Never send email newsletters BCC or as a PDF
attachment. Your NGO must invest in an
email marketing service.

19. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
2. Embrace a mobile-first email strategy. Mobile-
optimize your email (UNICEF on desktop,
UNICEF on smartphone) by using a
responsive template.

20. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
3. Design templates that allow header images to be
easily changed.

21. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
4. Integrate social media into your templates by
featuring social network icons (and a “Donate”
button) into your templates and by adding the
ability for subscribers to share stories,
pin products, like your Instagram photos, etc.

22. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
5. Focus on 1-5 stories and/or calls-to action and
keep text to a minimum.

23. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
6. Prioritize image and video content.

24. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
7. Write short subject lines (50 characters or less)
and use emojis to maximize open rates.

25. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
8. Send e-newsletters twice per month and donation
appeals an average of once per month with
increased frequency in December.

26. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
9. Study the email marketing of large NGOs similar
to yours in mission and programs by making an
online donation and/or signing up for their
e-newsletter.

27. 10 Email Marketing Best Practices
10. Prioritize growing your email list in 2016 and
2017.

29. Thank You
• This webinar was sponsored by OnGood – a
project of the Public Interest Registry – the
nonprofit responsible for managing the .ORG,
.NGO and .ONG domains.
• This webinar was not recorded. Notes will be
emailed within the next 24 hours. You are now
subscribed to the Nonprofit Tech for Good
e-Newsletter and email alerts from the Public
Interest Registry.