Evaluating the Effectiveness of Nonprofit Web Sites

The Web is a tool for outreach unmatched by any other form of communication. Nonprofits with an interest in being interactive and communicative should have an Internet presence to take advantage of all the available online tools -- including chat rooms, listservs, and blogs -- appropriate to achieving their mission. Since the Internet is here to stay, nonprofits should take a critical look at how to get the most out of their sites.

In the course of my study on the Web sites of the Colorado Office of Resource Referral Agnecies ( CORRA) and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation ( OREF), I developed a model of how I thought an ideal Web site for these organizations should function. I then measured the sites against the following six criteria. Other organizations may have different criteria depending on their mission and the goals of their Web sites.

I accomplished the evaluation through surveys with key people inside and outside the organization.

I measured:

• users' ability to interact with the site
• the site's educational value
• the effectiveness of the site in relaying the organization's mission
• the layout and content level of interest
• whether text is current or outdated
• how accessible the site is for the user

The Case Study

The purpose of my study was to understand how these nonprofits use Web sites as a method of outreach and how to improve their sites by applying this ideal model. The study looked at the intranets (Web sites or sections of Web sites meant for internal audiences only) and extranets (sites open for public access) of CORRA and OREF.

The CORRA site is partly designed to serve as an intranet for the statewide network of offices, while OREF designed its extranet site to serve as an educational tool for potential donors and current supporters.

Key stakeholders, partners in satellite CORRA offices, OREF volunteers, and OREF donors were surveyed on each of the ideal model points to evaluate the sites.

Ability to Interact with the Web site

There are many ways users can interact with a site. This includes downloading forms or materials, signing up for chat rooms or mailing lists, or even regularly checking in to obtain news and current event information. Interactive features are effective in meeting some educational needs of the visitor. For instance, a grant application download could be enhanced if there was information on how to complete the grant, how the grant applications are processed and scored, and on-going educational resources for the application process.

Users of the sites studied do feel that a Web site connects them with a larger community. For the CORRA survey, people responded that the chat rooms, information available for download, and the ability to communicate without the expense of long-distance phone charges keeps them connected with the organization and informed.

To enhance intranets interactive features, some organizations may want to schedule chat room discussions focused on a topic (see TechSoup's article on "Online Events " for more details) or provide online training services. Adding ways to share resources and work plans in the chat rooms, possibly through a monthly scheduled discussion for this topic, could also be beneficial. While it seems that interactive features are not the reason why people visit the site, they are an effective fringe benefit.

Educational Value

The Web sites studied are educational in that they provided news or information about the organization that the visitor did not previously know. This includes information on grants, benefits of donating, what is happening in the industry, or where to get more information on a topic.

The CORRA partners value the site's educational attributes in that they support their own work. They may refer families to the CORRA Web site for more information. On the OREF Web site, respondents want more than a listing of the grants funded; they want some education on the research that their donations support.

Effectiveness of the Site in Relaying Organizational Mission

After people have visited a Web site, they should have a solid understanding of the organization's mission and how the organization fulfills it. In the case of these site, this is more than simply posting a mission statement, but includes providing information on what activities the organization does to support it. How effective each site was in relaying a mission correlated with how often people recommended the site to others. Web sites can maintain a high ranking for relaying the mission through continually remembering all of the audiences served on the Web site, and that each visitor can represent multiple audiences.

When evaluating a site, ask which aspects of the site communicate the mission. For the OREF site, some people noted that the mission statement is posted on the homepage. This is a good start, but the Web site should go further. It should help give visitors enough information to inspire support for the organization's mission if they don't already support it.

Respondents evaluating CORRA said that the entire site, and all of its information, made the CORRA mission explicitly clear. The site makes clear the organization's support for families, providers, and communities. Respondents felt the site provides a link between early childcare and education, which is a core component of the mission. One respondent noted that the site is a professional product to refer parents to for information and referrals.

Layout and Content Level of Interest

Web sites should be simple to navigate and visitors should be able to quickly find the information that motivated them to visit the site. Information on Web sites should be very succinct and make it easy for the visitor to jump from one section to another. Intranets can often provide even more educational and resource information for the visitor.

As Web sites continue to develop and add resources, it is important to remember visitors' time limitations. It's important to keep the site organized so that people can find what they are looking for quickly. A succinct navigation bar linking to major areas, then sub-sections from those areas are often very helpful.

On the OREF site, repondents liked the graphics and found that sections with a personal impact were most interesting (in particulary, the information on applying for grants). They found the overall site attractive and easy to navigate, leading them to become repeat visitors to the site and to refer others. When asked what would maked the OREF site more interesting, respondents asked for more depth. People suggested extended information on hot topics in the industry and news articles. While visitors want succinct information, they want the information to be comprehensive so that they do not need to contact the organization for more information.

For the intranet sites, visitors found site information interesting if they were unable to obtain the information elsewhere. On the CORRA intranet, stakeholders were able to access compiled news and information that made their jobs easier and more efficient, resulting in repeat site visits.

Current or Outdated Text

It is critical that the information on a Web site be current. My study found that visitors receiving outdated information are unlikely to visit the site again or refer others. While many organizations do not have breaking news to help update and change their site content, sometimes simply rewording information or changing the graphics helps make a site attractive. It is very important to remove dated information once an event or grant deadline has passed.

One of the greatest challenges for nonprofit Web sites is to keep updating the information on their site. Organizations may want to develop a policy detailing the frequency of site updates. Visitors to a site with outdated information often are quickly discouraged from exploring the site further.

On the CORRA site, everyone felt that the site included useful, timely information. The intranet provides information on recent studies and policy actions that impact the industry, and the respondents found this to be helpful in their day to day work.

Accessibility for the User

Respondents found sites accessible when they load quickly, are easy to find, and are easy for the user to navigate. Things like font size, the number and size of graphics, and tools to help download documents are important. Accessbility comes from organizations responding to users' needs. (For more on other aspects of accessibility, visit TechSoup'sAccessible Technology section.)

Both OREF and CORRA users found the sites easily and felt they loaded quickly. Users ranged in the technology they had available to them; some had old computers and dial-up Internet access, while others had newer computers and high-speed access. While these users didn't have a problem with access to technology, they may face challenges related to the site's speed.

Conclusion

The sites that ranked high in each category defined success in meeting this ideal model for nonprofit Web sites. As demonstrated by CORRA and OREF, when conducting a site evaluation on appropriate criteria, most organizations will probably rank higher in some categories than others. It is difficult to devote the time and resources needed to create an ideal site, and some organizations lack the expertise to identify and implement what their users need. But by continually analyzing a Web site in comparison to a set of criteria appropriate to your organization and its goals, organizations can more effectively address these unanswered needs.