Soapbox Engage Blog

Your nonprofit’s website is your digital hub for connecting with supporters, gathering donations, and sharing your organization’s mission with the world. As such, your site’s design should effectively engage supporters and help differentiate your nonprofit from similar organizations.

So, how can you optimize your website with the most robust features and best possible user experience? It all starts with your nonprofit website builder.

You may have initially built your nonprofit’s website using a free, simple, user-friendly website builder. However, as your organization has grown over the years, you may find yourself searching for a new platform that can handle your evolving needs.

If your nonprofit has grown beyond out-of-the-box solutions like Wix and Squarespace, it's time to consider a more powerful solution. In this guide, we’ll help you narrow down your choices by reviewing the pros and cons of popular nonprofit website builders. These popular platforms include the two main open-source options:

• WordPress
• Drupal

Larger nonprofits with more complex website needs often find themselves torn between Drupal or WordPress as their core CMS. These two platforms are some of the most powerful website builders available and they’re both open-source, meaning both can facilitate a high degree of customization.

If your nonprofit is facing this choice, review the pros and cons of each platform to see which is right for you.

Choosing the right website builder is step one of your nonprofit’s digital transformation. A digital transformation involves using multiple robust software solutions to advance your marketing, fundraising, and advocacy efforts. At the end of this post, we’ll explore top tips for ensuring you choose a website builder that aligns with your organization’s efforts and goals. Let’s get started.

WordPress

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems available. In fact, nearly 40% of websites on the internet use WordPress.

WordPress is an open-source CMS, meaning:

• The basic software is free to use
• Anyone can view, use, and alter the source code

This makes WordPress a highly customizable platform that you can use to craft a unique, robust nonprofit website.

Since it’s such a popular platform, your team may already have experience working with WordPress. If you choose WordPress as your CMS, you can lean on this past experience while training staff members who are less familiar with the platform, making the process go more smoothly.

Here are a few pros and cons of using WordPress to build your nonprofit website:

Pros

• User-friendly: The WordPress editor offers a user-friendly interface. Your team should be able to make updates to your site with minimal training.
• Large support community: Because WordPress is so widely used, there’s plenty of support advice available. No matter what issue your site is facing, there’s likely someone out there who has already solved the same problem.
• Mobile-responsive: WordPress has a vast library of mobile-responsive website themes to choose from. This is especially important since, according to Double the Donation’s nonprofit statistics, half of all nonprofit website traffic last year came from mobile and tablet users. Creating a mobile-optimized website allows you to capture this important traffic and offer mobile visitors a convenient, streamlined experience.
• Search engine optimization: Using the Yoast SEO plugin can help content creators make search engine-friendly sites.

Cons

• Security vulnerabilities: WordPress offers a wide array of plugins to expand your website’s functionality, which can be a major benefit for creating online donation pages and eCommerce features. However, these plugins can also leave websites vulnerable to hackers. To prevent cyberattacks, keep an eye on security and plugin updates and implement them as soon as they’re available.
• Risk of creating a generic site: Using off-the-shelf themes can lead to creating a site that looks the same as others that use the same theme.

The platform offers tutorials and other training materials for new users. If WordPress is the right platform for your organization, these materials can help get you started and get your staff members on board.

Drupal

Drupal is another free, open-source content management system.

Drupal’s site builder, known as the Drupal core, offers every feature organizations need to build a comprehensive, powerful website. These include:

• Modules: These are Drupal’s versions of plugins, and they similarly extend your website’s functionality.
• Core themes: These are the basic framework options that designers use to create a certain look and design of a website. Drupal offers nearly 3,000 core themes.
• Multilingual features: Drupal supports 100 different language options out of the box.

All types of organizations use Drupal, including nonprofits, corporations, and government entities. Review the following advantages and disadvantages to determine if Drupal is right for your nonprofit:

Pros

• Powerful security features: Drupal is well-known for its robust security features, making it a good choice for larger nonprofits that process large amounts of sensitive donor data.
• Extensive customization capabilities: Drupal offers a high level of flexibility, empowering website developers to customize their layouts, content types, and other fields to craft a unique website experience.
• Commitment to accessibility: Drupal has a longstanding commitment to making its website design features accessible to everyone, including those using screen readers or other assistive technologies.

Cons

• May require greater technical expertise: Drupal is often thought of as a more complex CMS than other web builders. It requires coding knowledge, creating a steeper learning curve for beginners.
• Fewer ready-made themes: Drupal offers fewer themes than WordPress.
• Open-source risks: Similar to WordPress, Drupal’s module options have the potential to become security risks. You’ll have to stay up-to-date on your module updates to ensure you’re using the most secure version available.
• Slow load speeds: Another similar con for Drupal is that certain features and themes may lead to slower load speeds. To improve your load times, you can compress images, clean up your code, and reduce the number of redirects you have on your site.

To review examples of nonprofit websites built using Drupal, check out Kanopi’s guide to Drupal for nonprofits. Doing so will you get a feel for what Drupal’s accessibility features, language options, and security features look like in action.

Ultimately, your search for a website builder isn’t about finding the absolute best platform — it’s about finding the right platform that suits your nonprofit’s unique needs.

How to Choose the Right Nonprofit Website Builder

After assessing the pros and cons of various website builders, you may need help determining which option is the right platform for your organization. Here are a few steps to determine the best website builder for you:

1. List must-have and nice-to-have features: Define the features that your nonprofit website must have as well as the features that would be nice to have. For instance, your must-have features might include an embedded donation form, blog, and testimonials page. Your nice-to-have features might include an eCommerce platform to sell your organization’s branded merchandise. Find a CMS that offers all of your must-have features and a significant number of your nice-to-have features.
2. Find a CMS that integrates with your CRM and other software. Your nonprofit’s constituent relationship management (CRM) system is your hub for your donor information. When your website integrates with your CRM, you can easily transfer information between platforms. For instance, you can automatically transfer donor information from your online donation page straight to your CRM. This gives you an easy way to follow up with donors to thank them for their support and offer them additional ways to get involved.
3. Consider your audience’s needs. Think about what your visitors will be looking for when they arrive on your website. Depending on your organization’s offerings, they may be looking for your online donation form, events calendar, volunteer registration page, or advocacy information. Choose a website builder that allows you to design your website’s user experience with all of the features that visitors expect to see.

Along with using this process, be sure to also request demos and walkthroughs from your top CMS providers before committing to a platform. This allows you to get a feel for what the systems look like in action, ensuring you will make a more informed final decision.

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When choosing a nonprofit website builder, find a platform that you believe will serve your organization well over the long term. Advanced website builders like WordPress and Drupal offer the tools and features necessary to handle the complex needs of well-established nonprofits.

Use this list of pros and cons to choose the right CMS that balances user-friendliness with robust functionality. Good luck!

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Guest Post by Anne Stefanyk

As Founder and CEO of Kanopi Studios, Anne helps create clarity around project needs, and turns client conversations into actionable outcomes. She enjoys helping clients identify their problems, and then empowering the Kanopi team to execute great solutions.

Anne is an advocate for open source and co-organizes the Bay Area Drupal Camp. When she’s not contributing to the community or running her thoughtful web agency, she enjoys yoga, meditation, treehouses, dharma, cycling, paddle boarding, kayaking, and hanging with her nephew.