Using the Web More Strategically

And presenter Vane Warner, customer support director and sales rep for CharityFinders, focused on tips to move organizations closer to achieving that.

According to Warner, the four key attributes of an effective Web site are:

1. Look and feel. An organization's site should be attractive, professional, modern and well branded. The look and feel should be consistent across the site.

2. Navigation. Should be simple and intuitive, and enable users to get from any page to any other page with one click.

3. Content (text and images). An organization's homepage should be dynamic, with a brief description and calls to action. In terms of content, the site also should include the organization's mission statement; services and programs; goals; a “what's new” section; accomplishments; brief history; issues and causes; a message from the executive director; press releases; past events; urgent action alerts; testimonials; a photo album; endorsements and awards; a donor hall of fame; a privacy and security policy; annual report; 990 forms; a list of staff and board members and their bios; a FAQ section, a "help" section; and a "contact us" page.