Nonprofit Website Migration Lessons To Save Time, Money, & Headaches

It’s quite the investment for a nonprofit to get a shiny, new, website. At some point it needs to be done and hopefully, it will last a good long time so you don’t have to make that investment again in 2-3 years. Too often, we have seen nonprofits come to us sooner than they should have to, because their website is slow, has bugs, and/or requires too much work to keep updated. When we go to their nonprofit website migration, we tend to find some really interesting choices in the back end that lead to these problems. Had these nonprofits followed some simple guidelines, their investment could have stretched years longer. Let us save you some time, money, and headaches with lessons learned from website migrations of the past.

Lesson #1: Pay Attention to Manual Processes

When you are setting up new functions, and/or adding in new modules or blocks, it’s important to consider the process you are creating. Is that process going to end up with routine manual updates, uploads, or coding? If so, you’re setting yourself up for wasted time. We’ve seen everything from manual recurring event entries, to having to enter HTML for new additions. Website platforms generally have ways to allow you to automate these types of actions, so look for a better option.

Lesson #2: Replace Instead of Accumulate

Every website holds files and folders. We have found everything from duplicates of 30-40 graphics to entire libraries duplicated, when we go to migrate a website. These files tend to accumulate over time and add bulk to your website, not to mention storage space which is generally an added cost. It’s easy to just throw files into a website like we throw Christmas lights into a bin. Every year, people buy more lights because the old ones are so jumbled up they can’t tell what’s there. How many bins full of tangled lights get accumulated before they are thrown out? Use a media plugin or module so you can organize your files. This will allow you to see if you’ve already uploaded a file and replace it, instead of accumulating more.

The same concept applies to plugins and modules. The more you have, the slower your website becomes. Evaluate regularly so you know what you have and delete what you aren’t using. When you need a new function you’ll be able to determine if you have a tool that you can use or if you need a new one. Look for plugins or modules that will help you do multiple functions, so you consolidate instead of accumulate.

Lesson #3 Plan It Out

When you decide to make changes, take a look at what might be connected to that change. We’ve migrated on countless websites with long lists of drop down menus, second menus, and unnecessary buttons in the navigation that lead down rabbit holes taking the long way to what the visitor wanted to see. If you’re restructuring navigation, you need a strategy that is going to maintain a flow leading visitors through the story. If you plan it out with a navigation map, you can easily see where a new page fits into the story. No endless rabbit holes.

Same philosophy with categories. Blog post categories can accumulate leading to a long list that visitors won’t take the time to look through. When we map out a migration, we work with clients to set criteria for where the 15 categories they have will map to the 5 categories on their new website. Oh, the time we could save (and money they would save) if they’d just planned it out the first time.

With just a few guidelines, you can keep your website clean and you can increase its longevity.

Of course, if your website is in need of some major cleaning up or a redesign, we are here to help. Send an email to support or contact us about website design.