For a small charity, the website does several jobs at once. It explains your cause to people who've just heard of you, it's where supporters go to donate or volunteer, it's how people who need your help find you, and it's one of the first things a grant funder checks. This checklist covers the legal must-haves and the pages that actually move the needle.
The legal must-haves
Say you're a registered charity
If your charity's gross income was over £10,000 in its last financial year, the Charities Act 2011 requires you to state that you're a registered charity on documents that ask for money, and that includes fundraising and donation pages. Most charities simply put "Registered charity number" and the number in the footer of every page, which covers it.
Company and CIO details
If your charity is also a company limited by guarantee, company law requires your registered name, company number and registered office address on your website. If you're a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), make sure your CIO status is clear too.
Privacy and cookies
You'll collect personal data through donation, volunteer and contact forms, so you need a privacy notice explaining what you collect, why and for how long. If the site sets non-essential cookies, for example some analytics or embedded social media, visitors must be asked first.
Accessibility
Most charities aren't covered by the public sector accessibility regulations, but the Equality Act 2010 still applies to the services you provide, and many of the people charities serve rely on accessible websites. Follow the WCAG guidelines: readable text, good contrast, descriptive links and forms that work with a screen reader.
The pages that do the work
What you do, in one sentence
Visitors should understand what you do and who you help within five seconds of landing on the homepage. Lead with that sentence, not your history or your mission statement.
Your impact
Real numbers and real stories: how many people you helped last year, and what changed for one of them. Supporters give to outcomes, and funders look for evidence.
Donate
- A donate button on every page, not just one buried page.
- A trusted donation provider such as JustGiving, Enthuse, Stripe or PayPal, which handles card details securely.
- Gift Aid collected where your provider supports it. It adds 25% to eligible donations at no cost to the donor.
- The option to give monthly. Regular gifts are worth far more over time than one-offs.
- A line on what a gift pays for, such as "£20 funds one session", so donors can picture the difference.
Volunteer
List the roles you actually need, what each involves and the time commitment, with a simple sign-up form that goes straight to your volunteer coordinator. "Get in touch if you'd like to help" brings in far fewer volunteers than a specific ask.
Get help
If you provide services, make it easy for someone to find out whether they're eligible and how to get help or be referred. Write it for someone who is stressed and reading on a phone.
Governance and trust
- Trustees, with a line about each
- Your latest annual report and accounts
- Safeguarding policy, and complaints policy
- Your charity number, linked to your Charity Commission register entry
Funders almost always look at these before they award a grant, so a tidy governance page is worth more than it looks.
News and events
Regular updates show you're active and show supporters their money at work. It doesn't need to be a blog: a short update every month or two is plenty.
The technical basics
- Built for phones first: most visitors will be on a phone.
- Fast and secure: HTTPS on every page, especially donation pages.
- A domain your charity owns. A .org.uk address is widely recognised for non-profits. Register it in the charity's name, not a volunteer's.
- Someone responsible for updates. Out-of-date websites are the most common problem we see with small charities.
A free extra: Google Ad Grants
Eligible registered charities can apply for Google Ad Grants, which provides up to $10,000 a month of free search advertising through Google for Nonprofits. You need a good-quality website to qualify and to get the most from it, which is one more reason to get the basics right.
The checklist
- Registered charity number on every page
- Company number and registered office, if you're a charitable company
- Privacy notice, and cookie consent if needed
- What you do, in one sentence, at the top of the homepage
- Impact numbers and at least one real story
- Donate button on every page, with Gift Aid and monthly giving
- Volunteer roles with a sign-up form
- How to get help, written for someone on a phone
- Trustees, annual report and key policies
- Recent news or updates
- Mobile-friendly, HTTPS, domain owned by the charity
This guide is general information, not legal advice. The Charity Commission and NCVO publish detailed guidance for trustees.