We live in an online world, and it has shaped the way nonprofits engage with supporters and engage donors. 94% of consumers/donors say that their first impression of a brand is based on its website’s design. For nonprofits, this means leveraging effective website builders that offer both functionality and affordability.
This article compares and reviews the top nine website builders for nonprofit organizations, highlighting features, pricing, and sustainability to increase the organization’s impact and turn website visitors into donors.
9 Best Website Builders for Nonprofits Compared
Zeffy – Best for accepting donations online
Zeffy is not strictly a website builder but offers features like a free online store and an online donation page. These features may eliminate the need for a separate website for some nonprofits.
What makes Zeffy a great website builder for your nonprofit?
Zeffy allows nonprofit organizations to:
Cons
Zeffy does not offer full website builder options
Pricing
100% free
Review
“Creating and adding the giving form on our website was easy and well laid out, integration with our bank accounts and options for when deposits happen are ok. Really have not had to spend much time managing”
- Mark C.
Wix – Easiest option to create a nonprofit website in minutes
Wix makes website development simple with a simple interface and templates. You can add numerous web pages and an e-commerce store to your nonprofit organization's website.
What makes Wix a great website builder for your nonprofit?
- Drag and drop editor
- Mobile optimized
- Apps available
- Customized colors and fonts
- Easily connect third-party integrations
Cons
Customer service is difficult to reach
Templates
17 templates available for nonprofits
Pricing
Wix’s paid plans start at $16 a month when billed annually (includes a free one-year domain)
Review
“I've designed about two dozen websites for clients using Wix. Very easy to use. Templates are excellent. New features are cutting edge. Customer service is a bit more difficult to reach, but once you've got them, they are top-notch. Shop app is more than adequate. Follow up features and automations are more than adequate. Very satisfied. I use it basically every day. Integrations with other software programs seems adequate so far.”
- Cathy G.
Wix nonprofit FAQs
Is Wix free for nonprofits?
TechSoup members can purchase a one-year Premium plan for 70% off and a free one-year domain registration.
Can I accept donations through Wix?
Wix integrates with PayPal and other online donation tools to collect online donations.
Squarespace – Best nonprofit website builder for e-commerce integration and community-building services
Squarespace is a website builder with robust capabilities. It also supports e-commerce integration and community-building services.
What makes Squarespace a great website builder for your nonprofit?
- E-commerce store comm
- Membership site
- Blogs
- Numerous templates
- Built-in SEO tools
Cons
Costly service may be unaffordable for some nonprofits
Templates
7 templates available for nonprofits
Pricing
Paid plans start at $16 when billed annually (includes a free custom domain)
Review
“The functionality is so intuitive—so much better than WordPress which is what we used before. We made the switch because we wanted things to look modernized, streamlined, and we all know that people judge "books by their cover" or "businesses by their website." If you don't have a good looking website, you won't be taken seriously, and now we do, and that's the best part about it.”
- Alyssa N.
Squarespace nonprofit FAQs
Is Squarespace free for nonprofits?
No, but nonprofit organizations can get 10% off their first payment
What is the nonprofit discount code for Squarespace?
Use coupon code PARTNER10
Can you collect donations with Squarespace?
Squarespace has a premium feature that allows nonprofits to receive donations online
Shopify – Best e-commerce platform for nonprofits
Shopify is a user-friendly e-commerce platform that helps smaller organizations build an online store.
What makes Shopify a great website builder for your nonprofit?
- Custom branding
- How-to guides
- Sell online and in person
- Sell internationally
- Email marketing
- Social media integrations
- Custom domain name
- Email marketing
- Nonprofit logo design
Cons
While Shopify does offer a 3-month $1 plan, the cost goes up to $39 a month and may be too much for many nonprofits.
Templates
Shopify offers 12 free template themes, but none specifically for nonprofits.
Pricing
$1/month for three months (no credit card required). After that, Shopify’s paid plans start at $29 monthly when billed annually plus 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
Review
“Our fundraising events for our nonprofit, the Young Survival Coalition, are bike rides that span across three days. With this moving event, we have moving merchandise as well and having a laptop accessible at all times is difficult. Shopify has the easiest navigating and helpful app on your phone to make events on the go possible. The app allows us to let riders purchase merchandise wherever we are. We also enjoy how you can add products on-site to the app to then begin to sell. For example, one of our finale days was getting rain and we decided to start selling one of our incentives, the raincoat. Having this feature allowed us to keep track of what was sold as well as take credit cards. We love how you can take a picture of the credit card without always having to have a card swipe.”
- Danielle A.
Shopify nonprofit FAQs
Can nonprofits use Shopify?
Yes. Shopify offers NPO Lite and NPO Full for $29 and $99 monthly plus transaction fees.
Can you use Shopify for fundraising?
Yes. Nonprofits in the US and Canada can accept donations through Shopify Payments.
GoDaddy – Best domain registrar for nonprofits
GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain registrar and hosting provider. GoDaddy also offers e-commerce solutions, email marketing, and website building.
What makes GoDaddy a great website builder for your nonprofit?
- AI website builder
- Email and social media marketing
- 24/7 customer support
- Branded content creation
- Mobile-friendly
- Performance tracking
- Payment processing
- SEO
Cons
There are limited customizing options
Templates
11 templates available for nonprofits
Pricing
Go Daddy has a free basic plan that includes email and social media marketing, online payments, and branded content creation. Premium plans start at $9.99 a month when purchasing annually. These plans offer more features like:
- Custom domain names
- SEO
- Online store
- Email and text reminders
- Accept online payments
- List products for free on Google Shopping
Review
“Godaddy is a popular choice among small and medium-scale enterprises. Its affordable plans bundled with offers and features attract many. Godaddy has a great resource library of tutorials for beginners. Godaddy provides customer support 24x7. Godaddy's domain search tool and domain name generator tool etc come in handy at needy times. Godaddy has its own website builders tool and it can be used to develop professional-looking websites in no time. Godaddy's ready-to-launch websites templates are another good feature. Godaddy also allows WordPress hosting. Godaddy has reliable and affordable WordPress hosting plans. Godaddy's setup is very easy and you can get your site online in under 1 hour.”
- Samuel J.
GoDaddy nonprofit FAQs
Does GoDaddy offer a nonprofit discount pricing?
While GoDaddy’s prices are lower than most (limited free plan), they do not offer nonprofit discounts.
WordPress – Best free open source website builder for nonprofits
WordPress is a free, open source website builder. It is also one of the most popular website builders. You can install your own web host and entirely customize your website.
What makes WordPress a great website builder for your nonprofit?
- Free website builder
- Flexible and customizable
- SEO friendly
- Various plugins for monetization, event registration, e-commerce, and more
- Create a membership site
- Include ads
Cons
While you won't need coding knowledge, Wordpress.org is open source, it can get complicated and is not necessarily a beginner’s tool.
Templates
29 templates available for nonprofits
Pricing
WordPress is a free website builder, but you must purchase a domain and hosting with a third-party vendor
Review
“WordPress is a simple enough platform, especially for first-time users who may not be used to navigating the backend of websites. WordPress also pairs well with most plugins, allowing users to solve a number of business goals using this platform. There is a learning curve with WordPress; however, there is a large online community of blogs and discussion boards. The few issues that I have had thus far in more than four years of using this platform I have been able to resolve independently using this community of online help.”
- Anna I.
Duda – Best website builder for simple nonprofit websites
Duda is an excellent tool for website design and building. You don’t have to know coding to create a simple website for your nonprofit.
What makes Duda a great website builder for your nonprofit?
- Drag and drop editor
- E-commerce store
- Online payments and donations (includes recurring payments)
- Event management
- Members only pages
Cons
Only for simple websites
Templates
16 templates available for nonprofits
Pricing
Basic plans start at $19 a month when purchased annually (includes one site and hosting)
Is Duda free for nonprofits?
There is a free trial, but no discounts for nonprofits
Review
“I have been using Duda for approximately 3 years for small business and non-profit websites and I absolutely LOVE it! What I love most is the customer focus and support. Duda clearly cares about their clients and they have an outstanding support system, something I feel is greatly lacking on competitor platforms. I also love that they are focused on always improving the platform and seek feedback and ideas from developers and agency owners.”
- Lori O.
Site123 – Easy to use website builder for small nonprofits
Site 123 is easy to use and free. This site includes an intuitive website editor, free web hosting, and SEO tools.
What makes Site 123 a great website builder for your nonprofit?
- Drag and drop editor
- Variety of templates
- Several free features
- Easy to set up
- E-commerce store
- Mobile-friendly
- SEO tools
Cons
Limited customization options
Templates
29 free templates could be used for your nonprofit website but they are not specifically for nonprofits.
Pricing
Site 123 has a free plan. Its paid plan is $12.80 a month and offers a free domain for one year and an e-commerce store.
Is Site 123 free for nonprofits?
There is a free plan
Review
“It is very easy to use, the predesigned templates are nice and adapt to most small businesses. It has a library of free images pretty good. It has basic SEO options and allows you to customize the language and regional settings successfully. You can use it for free for simple websites, with payment plans you can add more functionality, hosting space, bandwidth and custom domain. The website that is built automatically adjusts to mobile devices.”
- Ana H.
Morweb - website builder designed specifically for nonprofits
Morweb is a simple CMS platform that allows nonprofits to build a beautiful and functional website with the right tools and designs to inspire donors.
What makes Morweb a great website builder for your nonprofit?
- Custom website design
- Non-technical Content Management System (CMS)
- Tailored nonprofit modules (blog, events, fundraising)
- Website Hosting
- Google Analytics
- Blogging tools
Cons
Limited customization options
Templates
12 templates available for nonprofits
Pricing
Morweb's paid plans start at $149 a month
Review
"I liked the flexibility to customize our needs and wants into a clean, fresh, and easy-to-navigate website. We were able to share our mission, services, impact, and story with our community in an easy-to-navigate website. They worked with us to clean up things from our old site and helped guide us through using best practices."
- Nathan S.
What makes a good website builder for your charity? Key features to consider?
Pricing
Cost is often a primary concern for nonprofit organizations. An affordable website builder and online fundraising tools are critical for nonprofits. If you can’t find a free website builder, look for ones that offer nonprofit discounts to get your money’s worth.
Ease of Use
Most nonprofits are volunteer-run and don’t have IT staff. It’s essential to find website builders that are easy to use and don’t require coding. Website builder software that’s too complicated may require freelancers or agency support to help set up.
Number of Templates
Nonprofit website builders should offer various templates for website design. Within these templates, you’ll need additional plugins like event calendars, online fundraising forms, etc.
Domain Name
Custom domain names for your nonprofit website are crucial for SEO, branding, and trustworthiness. Credibility is a critical factor for donors. Your organization’s domain name helps donors trust your brand and eliminates roadblocks for collecting donations.
Accepts nonprofit donations
Speaking of nonprofit donations, you’ll need a website builder that offers its own online donation platform or integrates with third-party tools like Zeffy. Online donations have become a significant funding source for nonprofits. This includes both one-time and recurring donations.
In 2022, online donations dropped from the highest point in 2020, but recurring donations jumped by 11% and made up 28% of online revenue. So, if your nonprofit website does not include an online donation page to collect one-time and recurring donations, you’re missing out on significant funds.
How to create a nonprofit website that stands out
Authentic storytelling
Nonprofits have more stories at their fingertips than most organizations. Your nonprofit can develop a storytelling culture and collect stories that share your nonprofit’s impact from donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries.
Make sure your nonprofit website shares these stories whenever possible with text and videos.
Personalized Content
Your website’s content is more than stories. Content includes text on your home pages, about pages, landing pages, images, videos, infographics, calls to action, testimonials, and blogs or newsletters. Effective content is not just about having these features but how they’re presented, organized, and tailored to your target audience.
Creative design
Website design is the first thing visitors notice. Website builders that offer unique templates for nonprofits can help you meet your site visitors' expectations and inspire them to give.
Innovative features
The addition of AI has created several innovative features you can add to your website, including:
- Chatbots
- Personalization Tools based on user behavior
- Recommended articles and campaigns
- Voice search
- Volunteer matching platforms
- Impact calculators
These and other traditional tools like surveys can help you personalize your website visitors’ experience.
Strong Community Engagement
Community engagement is another tool that inspires donors to give. Including a discussion board or donor testimonials on your website and donation forms will help supporters feel like partners in your mission.
Highlight Collaborations and Partnerships
Another way to excite donors and sponsors is by highlighting collaborations with corporations and other nonprofits on your website. Use your website to promote matching gift campaigns, events, and joint projects with these organizations.
Highlight Donor Impact
Donors give because they want to make a difference. Highlighting your donors’ influence and impact on your programs and beneficiaries will strengthen their support. You can do this with storytelling, statistics, infographics, and impact reports.
Pro Tip: Nonprofits should provide supporters with annual reports that share details on their impact and how your programs will help fulfill your mission. You can embed your annual report on a dedicated web page, add a PDF download, create a mobile-friendly format for your app, or add it to your newsletter.
Active Communication
Active communication can help you foster donor engagement, build trust and credibility, strengthen your community, and gather feedback from supporters. You can add a blog or newsletter to increase active communication on your website. You should also provide a contact page where visitors can ask questions and quickly receive a response.
Essential checklist for creating a nonprofit website and encouraging donations
Compelling mission and vision statements
It’s crucial to clearly articulate your nonprofit’s mission and goals. A compelling mission statement that communicates who you help, why, and how will help donors understand your organization’s purpose and excite them enough to learn more.
Exciting content
Remember to add impactful stories and testimonials throughout your website to inspire trustworthiness and commitment to your organization’s mission.
Call to action buttons
You must also have brightly colored and eye-catching Call to Action buttons on your web pages to make it easy for donors to give.
Various ways to give
Another important donation feature is to give supporters several ways to support your organization. You can do this by accepting various payment methods, volunteer opportunities, and ways to fundraise for your organization with peer-to-peer and crowdfunding campaigns.
Transparency and accountability
Trust is essential for donor support. You can build and strengthen trust and transparency with impact reports, trust badges from third-party reviewers, and by adding your IRS 501(c)3 employer identification number (EIN).
SEO
Search engines like Google are where you’ll find most new donors. This is why SEO is so critical to your organization’s marketing and website. Ensure your website content includes relevant keywords to improve visibility on search engines. You must also provide internal and external links to improve your Google ranking.
Social Media Integration
Your nonprofit should have social media accounts on tools like Google, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Your website should include social media sharing buttons so supporters can share your cause with their friends and family.
Regular Maintenance
Before going live, you must test your website to ensure there are no broken links or misspellings. It’s also important to provide continued maintenance and regularly update your website based on behavior and supporters’ feedback.
How much does it cost to create a website for a nonprofit
The cost of website development and management can vary based on several factors.
Size and Complexity
The size and complexity of your website will play a significant role in price. A simple website will cost less than one with complex features like donation portals, user accounts, and interactive tools.
Design and Customization
Custom designs, templates, and branding elements may cost more depending on the website builder.
Functionality
Online payment processing, event management, volunteer sign-ups, and management can all add to the costs of your website unless you can find free tools for nonprofits like Zeffy.
Content Creation:
You can develop content for your website yourself or hire a freelancer or agency to help create a professional site with compelling content that drives donations.
External help can cost more initially, but they are often cheaper than full-time staff.
Third-party integrations
A good nonprofit website needs several complex features to collect online donations, manage volunteers, collect donor data, and more. Third-party services can be an extra cost, but free tools like Zeffy can make these additions possible for smaller organizations.
Wrapping Up
A compelling online presence fosters engagement, inspires trust, and facilitates donations. A nonprofit website is responsible for all three. Each website builder mentioned in this article provides unique features and caters to diverse nonprofit needs.
From Zeffy’s free fundraising platform to WordPress’s customizable open source approach, there is a spectrum of tools to help you develop a compelling nonprofit website. As you determine which tool is best suited for your organization’s needs, remember to keep in mind your organization’s mission, goals, and budget.
While Zeffy isn’t a website builder, many of the features of this fundraising tool can eliminate the need for a website or seamlessly integrate with one. Visit Zeffy’s website to start accepting donations now with a free donation page.
Best Website Builders for Nonprofits FAQ
Can I create a free website for a nonprofit?
There are free website builders for nonprofits and small organizations. While these platforms are limited in features and scope, they can help organizations build a professional looking website and support their fundraising efforts.
Can I collect donations with a free website?
Most website builders don’t offer a free solution to accept donations online, but you can integrate third-party platforms like Zeffy. Zeffy is a 100% free online fundraising tool that allows nonprofits to create donation forms and pages, sell event tickets and raffle tickets, and run peer-to-peer campaigns.
Which domain should you use for your nonprofit?
It’s essential to choose a domain name that fits your organization’s brand, includes your organization’s name or keywords, and is memorable. It’s also a good idea to use the .org extension to ensure credibility.
