How to Choose and Work with a Website Designer for Your Annual Report Microsite

Nonprofits need a strong online presence in today's digital age. This is where the annual report microsite comes in. If you're new to this, you might wonder how to pick and collaborate with a website designer for your nonprofit microsite projects.

Your website designer and developer play a big role in launching, redesigning, or introducing your organization to a new audience. To ensure your collaboration succeeds, you must first research and understand the working relationship.

In this blog, we'll walk you through effective ways to find and work with a website designer or developer.

Nonprofits need a strong online presence in today's digital age. This is where the annual report microsite comes in. If you're new to this, you might wonder how to pick and collaborate with a website designer for your nonprofit microsite projects.

Your website designer and developer play a big role in launching, redesigning, or introducing your organization to a new audience. To ensure your collaboration succeeds, you must first research and understand the working relationship.

In this blog, we'll walk you through effective ways to find and work with a website designer or developer.

Finding the Right Website Designer

Searching for the right website designer for your nonprofit organization microsite projects might feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. Knowing what to look for is important as you narrow down your options.

Here’s a snapshot of what you can look for to simplify the search.

• Experience in nonprofit web design or cause-driven organizations, ensuring alignment with your goals.
• Time commitment for your entire project.
• Offering additional digital tools or resources if needed.
• A portfolio showcasing their design experience for similar projects.
• Authentic testimonials or case studies showcasing their credibility.

Differences Between Web Designers and Developers

Web Designers:

• Specialize in creating appealing digital experiences tailored for non-profit audiences.
• Focus on aesthetics, like color scheme and layout.
• Prioritize user experience to engage potential donors or volunteers.
• Often collaborate with popular website builders to ensure a responsive design, making a non-profit website accessible on various devices.

Web Developers:

• Work behind the scenes to ensure the mechanics of the site function properly.
• Integrate essential features for non-profit organizations, like donation buttons or event registration tools.
• Collaborate with designers to ensure the site’s responsive design works seamlessly, adapting to different screen sizes.
• Might recommend nonprofit website builders that offer a wide range of functionalities tailored to non-profit needs.

Designing for Nonprofits: It’s More Than Just Looks

The ultimate goal isn't just a professional-looking website. Nonprofit website design should:

• Clearly convey the organization's value to the community.
• Display the tangible results of your work, engaging potential donors.
• Motivate visitors to act, be it through donations, volunteering, or event registration.
• Offer easy access to essential data, like donation button and online donation capabilities.

Budgeting for Your Microsite

Budgeting for your microsite is one of the most important steps in this process. Whether you opt for freelance talents or a full-service digital agency, know the associated costs. But remember, going for the cheapest option might not yield the best results.

Understand Market Rates

Research the average cost of website designers for nonprofits to determine your microsite budget. By using sites like Glassdoor and Payscale, you can ensure you're not overpaying or undervaluing.

Decide on the Features

Nonprofit websites often have unique features such as an events calendar, donation forms, and social media integration. Every feature influences the final budget. It's helpful to create a list distinguishing between must-have and optional features.

Consider the Long-Term

Your online presence isn't a one-time setup; it needs regular nurturing. Consider the costs associated with updating and maintaining your site, including expenses for SEO tools, online donation processing, and content strategy modifications.

Custom Domain and Design

Many nonprofit website builders offer domain services, but a custom domain might be an additional expense. A tailor-made design that perfectly resonates with your nonprofit's branding and color scheme might also cost more than template-based solutions.

Feedback and Testimonials

It's a good idea to check reviews and feedback for potential freelancers and agencies. Sometimes, choosing a service with a moderate price and stellar reviews can be more advantageous than opting for the extreme.

Training and Handover

If your chosen designer or agency uses specific tools or platforms that your team isn't familiar with, there might be additional costs for training and handover.

Pitfalls to choosing low-budget web designers or web developers

Web designers and developers have wildly varying prices. If this is your first time, you don't have to hire the most expensive option, but you shouldn't aim too low.

Quality work necessitates fair and honest pricing, and sometimes the old adage is true–you get what you pay for. If the lowest cost ultimately leads to your decision, remember to be cautious of:

• Reliable and effective communication
• Key project milestones and deadlines
• Number of rounds of edits and revisions
• Need a lot of handholding when you're unsure about your creative vision 

Communication delays, reluctance to make changes or edits (as agreed), mismatched values, and web designers/developers who ignore or continuously push back on client requests are red flags.

Smooth Collaboration (from the client perspective)

Remember–transparency is the best policy. Make your collaboration fruitful:

• Stay involved, but trust the experts.
• Prioritize open communication, especially about your nonprofit’s branding and content strategy.
• Equip your designer/developer with the necessary brand assets, like a brand guide, logos, images, and a clear vision.

Questions to Get Clarity On

If you're hiring someone to design a nonprofit microsite, ask them:

• Who’s your main contact during the project? (Project manager or designer/developer)
• What's the extent of SEO tools or search engine optimization applied?
• Are you getting a custom design or a template?
• Will you receive a custom domain?
• Are additional services like email marketing or social media integration included?
• How will you communicate what assets you need or which ones are missing?

Designers and developers may not always be capable of writing site copy, optimizing your site for search engines, or answering strategic branding questions. A contract should clearly outline these additional services as part of the original project scope.

Your Role in the Nonprofit Design Process

A successful project is a team effort.

Provide the following:

• Accurate and updated contact information
• Relevant business and marketing assets
• Brand guidelines with approved logos, graphics, imagery, and other branding specifics
• Clear design vision or list of main goals
• Expectations for approvals, troubleshooting, and edits
• Any specifications related to donation forms, events calendar, or other features.

Why Choose Acton Circle for Your Microsite Design Goals?

At Acton Circle, you have plenty of options for choosing a web designer or web developer. You’ll experience the benefits of brand strategy and transformational web design and UX/UI rolled into one seamless experience.

We’re passionate about designing inspiring brands and websites that help more people take action on the causes they care about. Here’s our success spotlight:

Success Spotlight: Tides' Year of Change

Tides had a big problem: they were doing amazing work to help good causes, but many people didn't know about it. They wanted to share their achievements, their stories, and the difference they made but didn't know how to put it all together online. The challenge was clear: how do you tell a powerful story without the right tools and expertise?

They felt stuck. No matter how much positive work they were doing, if they couldn’t show it in an engaging way, they missed out on reaching more supporters, volunteers, and partners. This was about more than just a website; it was about connecting with people and making a difference.

Then Acton Circle stepped in. We heard their story, understood their challenges, and got to work. We created a website for Tides that was more than just pretty pictures and words. It was interactive, fun, and told the Tides story in a way everyone could understand.

"Before working with Olivia and the team at Acton Circle, we lacked the internal capability to develop microsites/web pages. We chose Acton Circle over others for their responsiveness, affordability, and excitement to work with a woman of color owned firm. Olivia is extremely bright with incredible ideas and insights for our project. The team was very responsive and easy to work with."

Jenny Summers

(Senior Creative Manager at Tides)

Here's what we did for Tides:

• Made an annual overview microsite: A place for people to learn about Tides and all the good they do. (Here's the website we made for Tides.)
• Shared their story: We showed how Tides works with others and the new goals they have with their leaders.

Tides' collaboration with Acton Circle helped them inspire their audience to join their cause.

Looking for a similar transformation? Book an intro call with us to get started on your upcoming microsite web design project.

‍