As a nonprofit, your story and mission are at the core of everything you do. And depending on how you tell it, your story has the ability to capture a ton of attention and garner support. But that’s only half the battle. The other half is turning that support into meaningful action.

So, as you head into 2021, how do you prep your website to inspire action, regardless of what might unfold in the months to come?

Make it meaningful
While each person’s experience of 2020 has been different, most everyone is coming into this new year feeling a bit burned out from month after month of heavy news. Consider all that your new supporters might have gone through in the lead-up to landing on your website. They’re likely looking for a way to feel fulfilled by contributing to the good in the world—make it clear how getting involved with your organization will help them do so. 

Make it easy to take action
Living through a pandemic can be overwhelming and many people are finding it stressful to narrow down which causes they’d like to get involved with amid multiple crises. Avoid making their experience navigating your website and forms yet another hurdle for them. The reality is, a complicated process might cause them to give up before they even get to the right page. With streamlined action pages, you can make the start to their supporter journey quick and easy—whether they’re looking to donate, volunteer, sign a petition, or register for an event.

Make it engaging
While your website might be where your supporters first learn more about your organization and take their initial steps toward getting involved, you don’t want a supporter’s interest in your work to start and end with one action on your site—you want to build upon the relationship they started with their interest. 

By combining your website with an integrated database, you can make the most of each action your supporters take on your site with automatic tagging and paths that help you stay on top of their journey with your organization. With these digital tools, you can ensure that no supporter’s action happens in isolation—it automatically triggers the next best way for them to get involved. What’s more, if you ever need help from your community (or vice versa), you’ll have all that information at your fingertips to quickly contact the right people, rather than scrambling last minute to pull together a plan under pressure.

Make it feel solvable
Though the obstacles we’ve all faced in 2020 won’t magically disappear when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, it’s in times like these when hope is vital—so why not be that source of positivity for your community as you head into the new year? Put the focus on how far you’ve already come in making an impact for your cause by making your progress a clear focus on your website. By setting clear goals, you’ll also be able to keep yourself and your team accountable as you get closer. 

Use what information you do know to set both long-term and shorter-term goals that feel within your reach. But don’t get too attached—you might need to pivot and that’s okay. Above all else, be kind to yourself. You’re doing powerful work while planning for a year filled with uncertainty. And that, in itself, is a great feat.