UX for Impact: How Nonprofits Can Transform Their Website with a Simple Audit

Why UX Matters More Than Ever for Nonprofits 

Good UX is about making it easy and enjoyable for someone to use your website and creating a digital space that effectively serves your mission. When visitors can't easily find what they're looking for, understand your impact, or take action to support your cause, you may miss crucial opportunities to advance your work. 

When nonprofits invest in user experience, the benefits extend far beyond their websites. Better digital experiences can lead to:

• Increased donations and volunteer engagement
• More effective program delivery
• Enhanced credibility with partners and funders
• Greater accessibility for the communities they serve
• More efficient internal processes 

Conducting a Simple UX Audit 

A UX Audit is a check-up for your website to see what’s working well and what might be confusing or frustrating for your visitors—an evaluation of user experience (UX).  A brief structured review of your website can reveal quick wins and long-term improvement opportunities. Here's how to approach it: 

Start with Your Users' Perspective 

Before diving into technical details, step back and consider the “U” in UX: who visits your website and why. Your primary users likely include: 

• Potential donors seeking to understand your impact and how to contribute
• Volunteers looking for opportunities to get involved
• Beneficiaries needing to access your services or programs
• Partners and stakeholders wanting to collaborate or stay informed
• Media and researchers gathering information about your work 

Each of your distinct audiences have different needs and goals, which should be considered when conducting a UX audit.  

Key Areas to Evaluate 

Homepage First Impressions  
Your homepage is your digital “front door” and needs to clearly and quickly communicate what your organization does, why it matters, and where your user should go next. Consider these questions to evaluate your homepage’s effectiveness:  

• How long does the site take to load?
• Can users understand your mission in 5 seconds?
• Is the main call-to-action clear and visible?
• Is the visual hierarchy guiding attention effectively?
• Are images and headlines relevant and engaging?
   

Navigation & Structure 
Test the user friendliness of your navigation by asking colleagues outside your organization to find specific information on your site. You and your team’s insights are valuable as well, but you are also likely more familiar with the website and its structure. Consider these questions:  

• Is the menu intuitive?
• Is the menu easy to understand and choose from?
• Can users find key pages?
• Can your user easily find the navigation throughout the site?   
   

Mobile Friendliness  
With more users accessing websites on mobile devices, ensure your site works well on smartphones and tablets. Test forms, navigation, and content readability on smaller screens. Consider these questions when evaluating the mobile experience:  

• What devices are your primary audiences using?
• Evaluate the technical details with free mobile friendly test tools
• Does your website provide a ‘mobile experience’?
• Is your content readable on mobile?
• Is your content clickable on mobile? 
   

Accessibility Basics 
Having an accessible site means reducing as many barriers as possible for as many users as possible. This includes, to name a few, using proper heading structure, alt text for images, and sufficient color contrast. Consider these tools and design principles to evaluate your site’s accessibility:  

• Check your site with tools like WAVE, axe DevTools, and the browser inspect feature.
• Design Guidance: Start with the POUR principles
  • Perceivable Content
  • Operable Interface
  • Understandable Information
  • Robust Compatibility 
     

Content Clarity & Readability 
Can visitors quickly understand your offerings and their impact? Avoid insider jargon and focus on clear, compelling language that resonates with your audience, and is formatted appropriately for the web. Consider these questions to review your content: 

• Does your content include clear hierarchy?
• Do you use micro, short, and long form copy appropriately?
• Are your page headings SEO-friendly?
• Is your language written toward and for your primary audiences? 
   

Your Audit Findings and How to Make Them Actionable  

As you review your UX checklist, be sure to document your observations. When you answer each question, take notes about your findings, like where you saw wins that you can share with your team and continue the good user experience. Also note where the website fell short, this is most important to make improvements and address the website goals. 
 
Next, prioritize the issues you find—identify which ones are issues you can fix and are quick wins as well as which require long-term fixes. Set up realistic goals for what you are able to take on to make the necessary changes. Chose to phase the changes or even assign priorities based on marketing efforts and audiences. Prioritizing the issues you find will guide your next step, which is making the updates and improvements. 

• Start Small and Iterate: Focus on the most critical issues first. Small, consistent improvements often have more impact than attempting a complete overhaul.
• Involve Your Team: UX isn't just the responsibility of your communications or IT staff. Program managers, development officers, and leadership should all contribute insights about user needs.
• Measure and Adjust: Track metrics like time spent on site, conversion rates for donations or volunteer signups, and user feedback to measure the impact of your changes.
• Get Expert Help: If you’re seeing too many issues, it might be time to start fresh with your site structure, design, or content. If your results feel overwhelming or beyond your capacity, that’s a sign it’s time to get expert guidance. 
   

Moving Forward 

Remember, your website is often the bridge between your important work and the people you serve and those who want to support it. By making that bridge stronger and more accessible, you are improving user experience, and you are amplifying your impact at the same time.  

A simple UX audit is a great place to start, and the Tech Impact team is here to help. We conduct in-depth UX audits, provide recommendations for updates, and can implement the changes on your site.  
 
Get in touch with our Chief Digital Officer, Marcus Iannozzi, to learn more about our UX services or schedule a consultation.