Numerous events emerging in the early 2000s led to the establishment of humanitarian
organizations aiming to raise awareness and funds for causes concerning the environment, social injustice, political activity, and natural disasters.
These organizations were pioneers in their attempt to affect human behavior towards versatile ethical matters with the use of advertising.
It was then that the human agency in environmental issues played a pivotal role in almost any aspect of public life – from politics to religion, from business to entertainment. Environmental protection became a central concept in political elections and celebrity activism and had a crucial role in business initiatives.
Today, nonprofits advocate these same values with their efforts focused on a certain mission. In the age of digital technology, however, the presence online is decisive.
We’re answering whether free websites for nonprofits are possible when aiming to improve online presence.
Benefits of Having a Website
Before cutting to the chase, let’s focus on a more basic question. Does a nonprofit really need a website? And, most importantly, how will a website benefit an organization?
Today more than ever, people can reach the audience they’re targeting through the use of social media and online communities. While these channels can prove to perform even better than expected, there is a huge downside.
Even though social media has the capacity to build the credibility of an organization, studies show that a larger portion of people performs a search engine check before putting their trust in a mission.
Moreover, in today’s climate of technological advancement and free web hosting opportunities, creating a professional website can cost you as low as zero cents.
Credibility
The most influential advantage a website has over any other form of online presence is the credibility it provides.
When it comes to nongovernmental organizations, credibility is essential for building a community and retaining people’s trust. How would people place their confidence in you when raising funds or recruiting volunteers?
As a priority quality in any nonprofit, online credibility is essentially built through a professional and modern-looking website.
Comprehensiveness
Another benefit worth considering is the comprehensiveness a website allows. With a dedicated space for the organization, a variety of information can be introduced and updated regularly.
Also, a finer segmentation of your activity will allow users to navigate through your work with ease.
For instance, news and surveys, galleries, and case studies, all can be published on your website enhancing the overall informativeness of your organization. And educating people through your work while also exhibiting it is vital.
Free Websites for Nonprofits? Sure!
As every nongovernmental organization knows all too well, working on a non-commercial enterprise means that finance is tight. Not only that but almost any expense needs a careful calculation and preparation in advance.
And you come to choose between spending your funds on a cause or on a website, it’s quite clear what you’ll choose.
That shouldn’t discourage you, however! Free websites for nonprofits are an excellent solution for those looking to build an online presence without having to break the bank.
As we’ve mentioned, free hosting allows users not only to create a website for free but also to keep it free, you know, forever.
While you might have to eventually purchase a professional domain, the web hosting being free itself is a huge financial relief for a website.
If there isn’t a technical savvy on your team, you shouldn’t worry either. Anyone can create a website in less than 20 minutes by following our guide:
How to Make a Personal Website in 20 Minutes: The Full Guide
At AwardSpace, we offer 24/7 technical support even to our free users allowing people to get in touch with any possible inquiries they might have. Also, the resources offered with our free plan turn out to be more than enough for a starting nonprofit including:
- 1 GB Disk Space
- 5 GB Monthly Traffic
- 1 MySQL Base
- 99,9% Uptime Guarantee
We have won the title of the best free web hosting provider by numerous websites for a reason. And that reason is our dedication to providing the finest service to not only large customers but also the tiny ones who need support the most.
How to Improve Your Digital Presence
Even though a website is the foundation of your further digital efforts, it’s far from being enough. To be able to spread awareness on the issues your nonprofit is passionate about, consistent work needs to be done.
Reaching the right audience means finding those you are willing to contribute to your work out of their own beliefs and aspirations as opposed to a material profit. These are the people who are most likely looking for organizations like yours and finding each other is a two-way process.
Social media is one of the most efficient ways to maintain communication with your audience, keep them updated, and build a powerful community. It is also a greatly effective way to drive traffic to your website, thus increasing its optimization.
Moreover, social media allows users to create groups around a common theme. By participating in such groups, your nonprofit can share its progress, promote its work, and even raise funds for necessary causes.
Forums and online communities are also essential links in the digital chain of your progress. Many volunteers check their local communities for recruiters and causes that resonate with their own worldviews.
In Conclusion
As a nonprofit organization, you work hard day and night to ensure that you leave no stone unturned on your way to achieving your mission. Nevertheless, all of your efforts could turn out to be in vain if you do not comply with the rules of the contemporary media.
This means that without an online presence, much less can be achieved when it comes to humanitarian or environmental causes. That’s why creating a website and then spreading your message across social media and the web as a whole could breathe a new life into your efforts.
Creating free websites for nonprofits is far from fiction and can actually be achieved with a minimum effort as long as your passion is the driving force. We both know that a passionate change-maker can turn out to create something wonderful even with zero technical experience. That’s the spirit of the social cause.