When was the last time you looked at your own website and thought,

“Yeah… that’s exactly who we are and what we do.”

Don’t worry, it’s (mostly) not your fault.

The fact is that the world changes fast — and as we’ve all been seeing on the news, it’s only happening faster.

The kicker is, as the world has changed, you’ve done what you’re supposed to…

You’ve grown.

You’ve adapted to challenges.

Your programs have shifted.

You’ve faced the fires, made the pivots, and responded to the needs and voices of your community.

But your website?

That poor thing still thinks it’s 2021.

It still awkwardly features that staff member who left two years ago (which is totally annoying to them, by the way!)

It still features a program you experimented with in early 2020.

It’s still showing photos of people in masks…

Most importantly, it’s not telling the true story of your work.

The story that moves people to join your cause.

The story that gets you out of bed every morning.

The story that makes major donors and partners invest in your mission.

We don’t mean to be accusatory or overly negative, but your website may be lying.

Not maliciously. Not dramatically. Just… quietly.

But lying nevertheless.

It’s like a well-meaning friend who forgot to tell the truth about the present because they were too busy reminiscing about the past.

And in today’s world, that’s a problem.

The reality is that approximately 75% of people admit to judging an organization’s credibility based on its website. Yes, we’re referencing a Stanford study, just so you know we’re serious**.

This means your website might be costing you…

Money.

Volunteers.

Donors.

Partners.

And your homepage? It might be actively having people ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ when they visit instead of being moved to actively engage in your mission.

This isn’t about perfection.

It’s about alignment.

It’s about clarity.

It’s about aligning your message with your mission.

You’ve done hard work to get to where you are.

Your website needs to catch up and tell the right story.

A few questions to ask yourself:

• Can someone understand why our work matters within 10 seconds of being on our website?

• If someone lands on our website for the first time… would they trust us?

• Does our website clearly reflect what we do today?

• Are we clearly explaining our current programs and featuring the people doing the work?

• Is the language on our site still aligned with our current focus?

If any of that makes you wince, you’re not alone. (Seriously, we’ve seen some things).

So, we encourage you to create a project in your task management software that says “Make our website stop lying.”

Not only that. Put together a plan to make sure your website is evergreen.

Gone are the days of the once-every-three-years redesign. Your website should be evolving with you.

Get the best people on it. Update (and continue to update) your message to match your mission and show your impact.

Of course, if you need support, we’re here for you.

We’d love to help you craft clear messaging and build a website that tells the truth, keeps telling the truth, and nothing but the truth.

Let’s share that beautiful, evolving, impactful work you’re actually doing.

Schedule a free clarity session with us today.

** According to research from the Stanford Web Credibility Project, 75% of users admit to making judgments about a nonprofit or company’s credibility based on its website design.