Charities play a vital role in our society. They often arise to fill a gap in services or address a critical need. While the focus should rightfully be on their important work, charities should also have a well-designed website to garner support and donations.
A charity website should tell a story and be engaging. It should also be simple to navigate, accessible, and optimized for smartphones and tablets. Our list of some of the best charity websites is a good place to start brainstorming if you are looking to design - or redesign - a website for your charity.
Based in Delaware, Inclind is a collaboration of some of the best and brightest website designers and developers in the business. We have specific experience with charity websites. We put our knowledge and technical skills to use to build websites that truly shine for charities throughout the United States. If you’d like to learn more, reach out to schedule a consultation with a member of our team.
What Should a Charity Website Include?
Charity websites are different from many other types of websites in that they typically don’t sell a product. However, they still need to be persuasive to get people to donate or otherwise support their work.
Every charity website is unique, but the best ones share some common features that should be included on any site for a charity. This includes:
- Search engine optimized content
- Calls to action (to donate, volunteer, or take another action)
- Contact forms to sign up for a mailing list or get involved
- Optimization for mobile devices
- Information about the mission and work done
- Necessary disclosures or facts, such as IRS registration as a nonprofit or financial reports
A charity website should also be easy to navigate so that people can readily find what they need to know - such as information on getting services or how they can donate. Buttons and drop-down menus are helpful ways to achieve this goal. Ultimately, if you want your charity website to be effective, you should focus on things that will not only persuade people to support your work but will make it as easy as possible for them to do so.
21 Top Charity Website Designs
World Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen is a charity started by celebrity chef José Andres that provides food to people in need throughout the world. Its website makes good use of photographs from locations where it works, showing exactly why its work is so important. It also features news alerts to let supporters know that the charity is aware of - and responding to - urgent situations. A prominent donate button in a pink-purple color makes it easy for visitors to support its cause.
Save the Children
Save The Children supports children globally who are in dire situations. Its website shows the power of simplicity. It features one photograph across the center of the homepage, with a bold, large, high-contrast font that explains its mission. It has five menu options, along with a donate button and search bar, making the page uncluttered and easy to navigate.
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood provides healthcare services to women, including reproductive care. Its website is modern and clean, using two shades of blue and white text to create an attractive design. Right at the center of the screen, users can simply click a button to make an appointment - or scroll to the top to find the prominent donate button to support the charity’s mission.
Doctors without Borders
Doctors without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) provides medical services to communities in crisis around the world. The MSF website shows just how critical it is to have a signature color, with its bold red highlighting important areas (such as the donate button and the news alert at the top of the page). As an international organization, it also has a translate button at the top of the screen - and a link to navigate to related MSF sites based in other countries.
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) fights to protect endangered species. The WWF website isn’t cluttered - instead, it has a single gorgeous picture stretching across the entire home page. There are just a few buttons up top, each with a high-contrast font to make it easy to read. The donate and adopt buttons are in colored boxes, which makes them stand out from the rest of the screen.
World Vision
World Vision is a Christian organization that helps children in need. Its website features a news update right below the menu bar so that visitors can easily see where the charity is working - and donate to help. There is also a chatbot function at the bottom of the screen to assist anyone who needs more information or assistance.
Reeds of Hope
Reeds of Hope is a smaller nonprofit that works in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its website is a good example of how even charities with limited budgets can design a great website. It makes effective use of photographs and white space and has a prominent donate button at the top alongside contact and social media links.
Broad Foundation
The Broad Foundation is dedicated to supporting various flagship initiatives in Los Angeles. Its website puts the focus directly on this mission, with a large photo of Los Angeles in the background. The menu bar across the top is simple yet effective, with just a few options to steer users to the correct area of the site.
AMA Foundation
The AMA Foundation offers scholarships, fellowships, and community health services. Its website is another good example of a charity keeping it simple - with its signature color and logo playing a prominent role alongside white space and crisp white font. A large magnifying glass makes it easy to search for what you need.
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society website is a good example of how a charity can be incredibly informative and supportive. Its “All About Cancer” section is like an encyclopedia for people who are searching for information about cancer. In addition to large red donation buttons, the website can also be easily translated - or users can easily click to call the organization directly.
Jackie Robinson Foundation
The Jackie Robinson Foundation is named after Jackie Robinson - a man who broke the so-called color barrier in professional baseball. The Foundation’s website puts his legacy front and center with large text emphasizing its mission. There are just two buttons on the home page, plus a pop-out menu, which helps to keep the site clean and easy to navigate.
The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project provides support to LGBTQ+ youth. Given that many of its potential clients may not be safe at home, it offers a great feature that is explained by a pop-up on the home page - if users hit the escape button 3 times, the automatically goes to the Google home page. Bold colors and striking photographs complete this modern, welcoming website.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch advocates for human rights throughout the globe. Its website has several great features, including the ability to click on a language to translate the page and “trending” issues underneath the menu bar. There are also several places to click to donate easily.
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital isn’t just a hospital - it is a research center dedicated to finding cures for childhood illnesses. Its website makes that mission clear, with a video in the background overlaid by its slogan. Buttons for patient referrals and donations at the top are boldly colored to make them easy to find.
National Resource Defense Council
The National Resource Defense Council is dedicated to protecting our natural world. Its website has a great feature that charities can use - a donation button that is set to a $20 monthly donation, which can encourage donors to make recurring donations. A menu bar with pull-down options compliments its color scheme and looks clean on the website.
International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee responds to humanitarian crises across the world. Its website makes no bones about the seriousness of the issues it addresses, with a large photo of an area where it works. It also has an urgent needs bar at the bottom of the screen that helpfully notes that gifts can be matched. This alert is backed up by the homepage story, which puts the focus on the area of the world that most needs help.
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental advocacy charity group that puts its needs front and center - when you visit the site, there is a pop-up that asks you to donate now. Its website features its signature color of green alongside a beautiful photograph of redwood trees - and content asking visitors to fight for the planet.
Hashtag Lunchbag
Hashtag Lunchbag is a charity dedicated to performing “organized acts of love.” Its website does something unusual that catches visitors’ attention - putting the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. This allows the main photo and buttons to take center stage - which can be an effective tactic for a charity.
Ovo Foundation
The Ovo Foundation is dedicated to a “greener future” for everyone. Its background is a website of children in nature, and it smartly minimizes written content and buttons. This reduces clutter and makes for a strong visual impact.
The Gates Foundation
The Gates Foundation takes on projects throughout the world, such as vaccination missions in countries where certain diseases are endemic. Its website is clean, with a video framed by plenty of white space and high-contrast text. It also has a fun button for a necessary feature - a small cookie on the bottom left of the screen allows visitors to manage their cookie preferences easily.
The MS Society
The MS Society is a charity for people living with multiple sclerosis. Given that many of its users may have disabilities related to MS, it makes accessibility options easy to find - alongside a button to get MS support. Its library of resources is a great source of information and support for people living with this disease.
Offering Expert Services for Charity Website Design
Charities need websites to reach their potential - and achieve their mission. A well-designed website can help you reach potential clients and supporters alike. Incorporating certain features, such as translation and accessibility options, can set your website apart from the crowd.
At Inclind, we offer a full range of web development and design services for charities. Our experience includes all phases of nonprofit website design and development, including custom integrations, website migration, DevOps, and more. For each client, our goal is to use our creativity, design knowledge, and technical expertise to create a beautiful, functional website.
If you’d like to learn more about our web services for charities, we’re available. You can fill out our online contact form or hit the live chat button to talk to one of our experts about your website.