How Non-Profits Use Squarespace
Having a strong online presence is non-negotiable for a Non-Profit. It’s also necessary to make sure every bit of it resonates with the non-profit’s audience, reflects your mission, and helps you achieve your goals. A great website that’s built to amplify your mission is a significant part of this and that’s where an easy-to-use web design platform like Squarespace comes in. Despite the myriad of options available, Squarespace remains one of the best platforms you can use for this purpose. In this article, we will go through all the features on Squarespace that make running a non-profit website a walk in the park and give you a quick rundown of what to do to set up your own website.
How We Can Help
At SpaceWorks, we know how much work it takes to build a website on your own. As official Squarespace experts, we can take the work off your hands so you can have more time to focus on other parts of running your non-government or non-profit organization.
Features for Non-Profits on Squarespace
From mission pages where you can clearly state your purpose and appeal to your target audience to donation blocks where you can tailor your text to fit the message you want to share with your audience, Squarespace has many features that are particularly beneficial for a Non-Profit website. They include:
Mission Pages
Mission or history pages are an essential part of a non-profit website; you need it to display your goals clearly in a way that resonates with your target audience and potential sponsors. Squarespace has made this easy with customizable page templates where you can easily add your history, purpose, and milestones. Rather than trying to create a layout from scratch, all you need to do is customize and input your content.
Partners’ Page
Non-profit organizations are hardly ever a one-man show and it is only right that the partners involved are properly showcased. Squarespace templates make this easy with customizable pages where you can add your partners and highlight their invaluable contributions. This section helps to strengthen trust and credibility between your organization and its partners. It reflects transparency and opens you up to collaboration with potential partners.
Testimonial Blocks
On the subject of transparency, a testimonial block is a must-have for a Non-Profit. It is similar to a review page for an online store. You want your visitors to hear the proof of your impact from the people who benefited from or witnessed it first-hand.
With Squarespace’s testimonial blocks, you can display stories of impact, transformation, and satisfaction. All of this makes your organization more relatable to its audience, serves as proof of your work, and compels potential donors to contribute to your success.
There are several ways of presenting this page to your audience, each one as attractive as the next. All you have to do is choose, customize, and fill out with your own information. You can also use Squarespace’s quote block options to display each testimonial quote by quote.
Donation Blocks
Another feature Non-Profits’ cannot do without is the donation block. As an organization that isn't earning money from its activities, receiving money from others with aligned interests should be made as easy as possible. To make this process seamless, Squarespace features donation blocks which are usually conspicuous buttons that lead visitors directly to a donation page. As you must know, the less friction involved in this process, the better.
In addition, you can customize the button text with whatever call-to-action you believe will reach your audience best, collect some donor information, and modify the design to suit your brand. You can also suggest donation amounts to further reduce the friction that over-thinking may cause.
Since Squarespace allows payment solutions like Stripe, Applepay, PayPal, you can be sure that the money will be safely processed and disbursed into your organization’s bank account. This will also assure your visitors of their own security.
Event Pages
As a Non-Profit, you are almost always in the process of holding one event or another, from fundraisers to webinars to advocacy walks and workshops. You never run out of these events to raise awareness, advocate, educate, or raise funds. Having a page where you can display these past and upcoming events effectively becomes imperative.
Squarespace makes this easy with the events page feature. However, you must note that these pages don't support booking, you will have to integrate with Acuity (Squarespace) Scheduling for to process those.
Application Pages
Your website highlights your accomplishments and can inspire visitors to support your mission. To turn that interest into action, it's essential to offer a clear way for them to get involved. An application page serves as a direct link for potential volunteers and staff to reach out. An efficient recruitment process is vital for the sustainability of any non-profit organization. With Squarespace, you can design specialized recruitment pages that detail open positions, outline the roles and responsibilities, and specify the qualifications required. Alternatively, you can embed contact forms directly into your site with tailored prompts, ensuring users can easily communicate with your recruitment team.
Infographics
Infographics are invaluable tools for non-profit organizations, and Squarespace's image blocks make integrating them into your website effortless. They provide a bold and engaging way to showcase statistics, tell compelling stories, and communicate your impact effectively. Visually striking infographics not only increase audience engagement but also encourage sharing across social media platforms which helps amplify your message.
Integration with Social Media
For non-profit organizations, a strong social media presence is just as crucial as maintaining a website. Sharing your activities and impact in real-time can significantly enhance engagement and build trust with your audience. Squarespace simplifies this process by allowing you to incorporate social media buttons directly into your website. This enables visitors to easily find and follow your profiles on their preferred platforms.
Examples of Spaceworks design for leading Non-Profits around the world
How to Start Your Non-profit Website on Squarespace
Now that you know all that Squarespace has to offer you as a Non-Profit, here's a quick rundown of the steps you can take to get started.
Choose A Plan
Squarespace offers four plans to choose from: Personal, Business, Commerce Basic, and Commerce Advanced. The Personal plan is the most affordable but is suitable only if your needs are minimal. This plan allows for a maximum of two contributors and does not include a donation block.
For most non-profits, the Business plan offers the best balance between cost and functionality. It provides an unlimited number of contributors, access to shared calendars for easy scheduling with your team, and advanced website analytics to monitor your site's performance. If you plan to sell merchandise online—a popular approach for non-profits—you might want to consider one of the Commerce plans.
To help reduce costs, Squarespace offers a 10% discount for non-profits on their first payment. Simply enter the code NONPROFIT at checkout to receive the discount. At Spaceworks can also offer a 6 months free trial if you need more time to prepare your content before getting started.
Pick A Template
While you can customize any template to give you the look that you want, it is easier to choose a template from the Community and Non-profit category. Simply filter by Community and Non-Profit on the template store to only show Non-Profit focused templates.
Create An About Page
Your mission is the most important thing about your organization, so create an About Page where you can share it. Use images and videos to make it visually attractive. Keep it on-brand as you share information about yourself and your organization.
Donation
The next thing is to connect a payment processor and add a donation block with customized text and suggested amounts. Also, consider collecting information from your visitors through which you can keep them updated about future projects.
Contact page
Add your contact information and a form block where visitors can reach out or volunteer to be a part of the organization. You can integrate a third-party platform like MailChimp to collect their information and keep them updated about the status of their application.
Display projects
Display your past projects and future events while also featuring your partners. Highlight your biggest achievements and give due credit to any collaborators that were involved.
Promote with Content
Keep your audience engaged by regularly providing fresh content that spreads awareness and keeps them informed about your organization's activities. Creating a blog page is an excellent way to achieve this. Additionally, you can use Squarespace Email Campaigns to collect email addresses and grow a subscriber list, allowing you to send newsletters and stay connected with your supporters.
Optimize for Search Engines
Optimize your website for search engines by keeping track of engagement after every updated, verifying your site with Google Search Console, and ensuring that your site is mobile-friendly.
In Conclusion,
With all the information you've gathered about building your website on Squarespace—from selecting the perfect plan to optimizing it for search engines—you're now ready to expand your reach and connect with your audience effectively. Begin your journey by exploring templates or by contacting Squarespace Experts like us at SpaceWorks. We're here to help you build the website of your dreams.
