Do you need one?
Does a charity need a website?
A fair question when budgets are tight. But the honest answer turns on the supporter: they research causes online before giving, and support the one they trust and connect with.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Does a charity need a website?
The honest answer
Does a charity need a website? If you have all the support you need, and no wish to grow, then perhaps not. But the honest answer turns on how a supporter chooses a cause. A potential donor is deciding where to give their money, and a potential volunteer where to give their time, so they do not commit blindly; they research, wanting to understand the cause, trust that it is genuine and effective, and find how to help, and they do that online. A charity with no presence gives them nothing to understand or trust, so they support a cause they could learn about and give to instead. The real question, then, is whether you want to grow your support, because without a website you cannot build the trust that giving depends on, and the moved supporter takes their donation, or their time, to a cause that told its story and made helping easy.
Supporters research causes before they give
Giving is an act of trust and connection, because the supporter is handing over their money or their time and wants it to matter and to reach a genuine cause. So they research before they commit, and the research is where the decision is made: they look for your story, to feel the cause and be moved by it, for evidence of your impact, to trust that their support will do good, and for how to help, and they weigh it online. A charity that is absent from that, or present but thin, cannot move a supporter or earn their trust, so they give to a cause that could. Because people support on both heart and confidence, a charity has to convey both, the emotional pull of the cause and the reassurance that it is real and effective, and both live on your site. So being supported means telling your story and proving your trustworthiness where the supporter is looking, which is online, before any gift is made.
A website captures the support your fundraising creates
The strongest objection is that a charity is supported through events, appeals and word of mouth, and those matter greatly, but a website captures the support they create rather than being separate from them. Someone who hears of you through an event or a friend looks you up before giving, to understand the cause and check you are genuine, and what they find either turns their interest into support or lets it slip away. A site that tells your story and makes giving easy converts that interest into a donation or a volunteer, while having none, or only a scattered social presence, lets the goodwill your fundraising generated go uncaptured. Social media can spread your message and a donation platform can process a gift, but neither builds the trust and connection that move a supporter to give in the first place, which your own site does. So a website does not replace your events and word of mouth, it is where the support they inspire is understood, trusted, and captured, which is how a charity turns its fundraising effort into lasting support.
So the real answer to does a charity need a website is: yes, if you want to grow your support, because supporters research causes online before giving and support the one they trust and connect with, so being absent means being unable to build that trust. And finding out costs just £99 up front: I build the site on spec, from £297, and you see it finished before you pay the rest, so you can look at your actual site, ready to tell your story and make giving easy, and decide from there, knowing the support a good site brings in quickly outweighs its modest cost.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a charity site from me includes.
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Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
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Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
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On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
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Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
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Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
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Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
Does a charity really need a website?
If you want to grow your support, yes, because supporters research causes online before giving. A potential donor or volunteer looks up a charity to understand its cause, judge its trustworthiness, and find how to help, so a charity with no presence cannot be understood, trusted or supported. Without a site, you lose the supporter to a cause they could learn about and give to.
Isn't a charity supported through events and word of mouth?
Those matter, but even someone who hears of you through an event or a friend looks you up before giving, to understand the cause and check you are trustworthy. So word of mouth and events still run through your presence, and a site that tells your story and enables giving converts that interest, while having none lets it fade. A site does not replace your fundraising, it captures the support it creates.
Why do supporters research a charity online before giving?
Because they are choosing where to give their money or time, so they want to understand the cause and trust it before committing. They look for your story, your impact, and a sense that you are genuine and effective, and they judge it online. A charity with no presence gives them nothing to understand or trust, so they support one they can.
Can't we just use social media or a donation platform?
Those help, but social media scatters your message and a donation platform only captures those already decided, whereas your own site is where a supporter understands your cause fully, comes to trust you, and decides to give. Social media and platforms can feed people toward it, but your site is where trust is built and support is won, which they do not replace.
When could a charity skip a website?
Realistically, only if you have all the support you need and no wish to grow. Because supporters research causes online before giving, most charities without a site cannot build the trust that support depends on. For any charity wanting to grow its donations and volunteers, the case for a site is strong.
Is a website worth it for a small charity?
Often especially so, because trust and a compelling story, not size, win support, and a good site lets a small charity tell its cause as movingly as any large one. A credible, story-telling site can win a small charity donors and volunteers who would otherwise support a bigger name. The support it brings quickly outweighs its modest cost.
How much does it cost to find out if a website is worth it?
Just £99 to start with me, and it comes off your quote. I build the whole site first and you see the finished thing before you pay the rest, from £297. So you are not gambling on a maybe, you are looking at the actual site for your charity and deciding then. Given the support a good site brings in, the risk of finding out is very low.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a charity site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read A Checkatrade alternative, see the full pricing, or get in touch.