Nonprofits bring people together to work toward shared goals. For many nonprofits, they rely on websites to bring awareness to their causes, raise funds to support programs, and provide essential community services.Â
WordPress plugins enhance the functionality of your nonprofit website. That way, your organization can add key elements, like donation forms, event calendars, and security measures, to improve the visitor experience.
Take the time to upgrade your nonprofit website. Below are seven WordPress plugins for nonprofits to explore.
1. GiveWP
On average, 39% of donors who made an online gift to a nonprofit in 2018 made an online gift again to that nonprofit in 2019. Your goal is to streamline the giving process, so your donors can make their donations directly on your website.
GiveWP is a WordPress donation plugin to support your nonprofit’s online giving efforts. You can accept gifts via custom donation forms—ask for multiple giving amounts and add terms and conditions in just a few clicks.
The plugin’s reporting feature allows you to see a complete overview of your donation activity. You have control of your nonprofit’s data and can filter reports by date, form, or the payment method. On top of that, GiveWP also generates tax-deductible receipts for your donors.
2. All in One SEO Pack
Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a critical role in attracting new visitors to your website. You want volunteers, supporters, and funders to easily find your organization online.
All in One SEO Pack is an easy-to-use WordPress plugin for beginners as well as advanced users. You can submit your XML sitemap to Google and Bing, automatically generate meta tags, and add canonical tags to your URLs.
If you upgrade to the Pro version, you can optimize page categories, tags, and taxonomies. You’ll also get access to SEO video tutorials and priority support to answer your questions.
3. Constant Contact Forms
Email marketing is essential in helping nonprofits communicate with their supporters. However, an Evergage report found that only 25% of email campaigns are personalized down to the individual level, including product or content recommendations and tailored messaging or promotions.
Fortunately, with Constant Contact Forms, you can create more personalized campaigns to build rapport with your subscribers. Using customized data fields, you can select the type of information you collect in forms to send more tailored emails to donors.
You don’t need a designer to create a form. Instead, Constant Contact Forms will automatically select a form that matches the theme and style of your current website. These mobile-optimized forms also adjust to fit the screen of any device.
4. Social Snap
If you’re looking to drive traffic, it’s time for your nonprofit website to install a social sharing plugin. These tools make it possible for your organization to grow its social following and get more eyeballs on your content.
Social Snap is a WordPress plugin that makes it easy for your donors and website visitors to share. You have the option to place buttons before or after your content, or you can overlay buttons on images.
Less hassle means more sharing. Jennifer Beese, a community manager and social media strategist, agrees:
“Platforms are inundated with content and it moves very fast. If sharing something requires a large investment of time—either due to searching for a way to share or having to jump through hoops in order to do so—more times than not it won’t be shared.â€
5. The Events Calendar
From galas to networking breakfasts, nonprofits host several fundraising events every year. These events help support various programs and sustain your organization. However, managing all those events can become a time-consuming hassle.
The Events Calendar WordPress plugin makes nonprofit event management easier with flexible calendar views, event search, and Google calendar exporting. Plus, it integrates with other tools to create RSVPs and tickets for events.
Research shows that 19.4% of nonprofit event registrations occur on mobile devices. Luckily, this plugin comes with a responsive design, so your attendees can easily find events on their smartphones and tablets.
With the Pro version, you can unlock more features, like recurring events, premium support, and shortcodes to embed a calendar or event anywhere on your website. You also can highlight specific events to increase attendance.
6. WPScan
Online security breaches happen every single day, and hackers are becoming savvy in how they steal data. Right now, it’s important for nonprofits to take proactive measures to secure any sensitive information.
“Donors and clients trust nonprofits to keep their personal information safe…Data security is not a trend; it needs to be a part of your nonprofit’s ongoing plans,†states Rick Cohen, chief communications officer at the National Council of Nonprofits.
WPScan detects security vulnerabilities within your nonprofit website. The plugin scans the WordPress core, plugins, and themes, displays the total number of issues found, and then notifies you by email.
This tool checks user passwords to determine if they are strong enough. As a result, you can inform your team to create more complicated passwords to avoid breaches. WPScan also gives you a list of any exposed usernames on your site.
7. Testimonials Widget
Social proof influences people to make decisions, like what to buy or where to donate money. Experts found that testimonials can increase conversion rates on sales pages by 34%. You can apply this same marketing technique on your nonprofit’s website to boost donations.
The Testimonials Widget WordPress plugin allows you to insert quotes, reviews, text, images, or videos on your site. Using shortcode, theme functions, or widgets, you can display testimonials in random or specific ordering. The single testimonial view supports image, author, title, location, email, company, and URL details.
Through categories and tagging, your nonprofit can organize your testimonials. For instance, you can configure the plugin to show only corporate donor testimonials with a business tag.
Optimize Your Nonprofit Website with WordPress Plugins
Upgrade your nonprofit website by installing the above-mentioned WordPress plugins. You’ll improve the visitor experience by accepting online donations, adding customized forms, and showcasing testimonials.
Shayla Price creates and promotes content. She lives at the intersection of digital marketing, technology, and social responsibility. Originally from Louisiana, Shayla champions access to remote work opportunities. Connect with her on Twitter at @shaylaprice.