Website quick win: Update services and program pages

Do you know where old and outdated website content tends to live? It is on services and program pages. 

Non-profits large and small all fall into this trap (as do businesses of all sizes): Content is written to launch the website, but then months and years go by, competing operational priorities take over and those pages stagnate. Programs change, services get tweaked, and suddenly it dawns on you that the information you are sharing with the world is not completely relevant or accurate. 

If refreshing the content on the entire site is not on the agenda right now, or it seems like too large a task to take on in one go, simply spending some time reviewing your main programs or services umbrella page, and all of its sub-pages, is an easy way to make a big impact. 

Here are five steps to take now.

1. Ensure every detail is accurate. It may seem like a no-brainer, but incorrect information lives on websites all the time. Check every page to make sure that staff names, contact information, locations, dates, times and/or registration information is current. If a certain program or service is no longer offered, remove it now.

2. Update descriptions. Non-profit websites often need to do double-duty; they need to make donors understand the impact of their support, but they also need to educate and inform potential program participants. Spend some time reviewing every program and service description to ensure it speaks to both audiences. What are the benefits to participants? What are the real outcomes of each program or service? What difference does the program make in peoples’ lives? 

3. Choose your words carefully. Focus on being clear and concise, and in getting your point across in as few words as possible. Also, stay away from industry-specific jargon and acronyms when describing programs and services; instead stick with language you know the audience understands. 

4. Use bullet points and subheadings. Your audience doesn’t need to know all of the details of each program or service, just high-level information. Large paragraphs are also hard to read on the screen, so minimize each paragraph to one to three sentences. Break up the text with subheadings. 

• Better yet, use bullet points to avoid key information getting lost in the depths of a paragraph. 

5. Have a call to action. Calls to action aren’t only limited to donation pages. What is it you want your readers to do with the information they just took in. Is it to sign up? Is it to drop-in? Is it to volunteer? If possible, try to prioritize just one call to action.

Once updates are made, schedule time at least twice a year to review the information. Descriptions may not need to be rewritten that often, but it is a good idea to make sure that, at the very least, details remain accurate.