Mastering Effective Website Strategies

Welcome to Class 7

Walk away with a practical framework to improve your nonprofit website’s performance, accessibility, and visibility.

Cody Clifton, Owner-operator of Squeak Media

Presented by:
Cody Clifton

Owner- Squeak Media

screenshot of marionliteracy.org website

Here’s What We’ll Cover In The Next Hour

Agenda Preview

  • 1.

    Why Your Website Matters

    The role your website plays in supporting your mission and driving engagement.

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  • 2.

    Website Best Practices

    Learn about Core Web Vitals and PageSpeed Insights—the key metrics that impact your site’s performance and visibility.

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  • 3.

    Core Pillar 1: Performance

    Explore what affects site speed and how to optimize hosting, images, and scripts.

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  • 4.

    Core Pillar 2: Accessibility

    Discover how to make your website usable for all, including people with disabilities.

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  • 5.

    Core Pillar 3: Best Practices

    The must-have legal pages: privacy, terms of use, and donation policies.

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  • 6.

    Core Pillar 4: SEO

    How to decide whether to rebuild, redesign, or refine your current site.

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  • 7.

    Bonus: Are You Legally Covered Online?

    Learn which policies your site needs and why Termageddon is a smart solution.

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  • 8.

    Q&A + Next Steps

    Helpful links, action steps, and time for your questions.

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Meet The Presenter

Hi everyone! I’m Cody Clifton, owner of Squeak Media, a digital marketing agency based here in Florida. I specialize in helping small businesses and nonprofits grow their online presence through high-performing websites, SEO, and strategic digital marketing.

Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of working with a wide range of organizations—from health care providers and local retailers to national equestrian brands and historic preservation societies. My websites consistently exceed Core Web Vitals benchmarks, meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards, and are built with both speed and strategy in mind.

  • Owner of Squeak Media, a full-service digital marketing agency

  • WordPress expert – fast, secure, accessible sites built to convert

  • SEO strategist – from local rankings to nationwide search visibility

  • Core Web Vitals optimization – Google loves our websites

  • Accessibility advocate – all users deserve access to your mission

  • Trusted by nonprofits and mission-driven organizations

  • Content and advertising strategist – monthly plans that drive results

  • Frequent speaker and workshop presenter for nonprofits and small business groups

Your Website is Your 24/7 Outreach Tool—Educating, Fundraising, Recruiting

Why Websites Matter for Nonprofits

  • Acts as your nonprofit’s digital front door

  • Clearly communicates your mission and impact

  • Expands your reach to new donors, volunteers, and partners

  • Supports fundraising through donations and event registrations

  • Provides resources, updates, and stories to engage your audience

  • Builds trust and drives long-term community involvement

Common Nonprofit Website Pitfalls

  • Slow load times due to poor hosting or unoptimized content

  • Not mobile-friendly, making the site hard to use on phones

  • Missing clear calls-to-action like donate, volunteer, or contact

  • Confusing navigation that makes it hard to find information

  • Lack of accessibility, excluding users with disabilities

  • Poor SEO, so the site doesn’t show up in search results

So How Do We Check For These Issues?

How Google Measures Website Quality

PageSpeed Insights

Google measures website quality using a set of key metrics—known as Core Web Vitals—that evaluate how fast your site loads, how easy it is to use, how accessible it is to all users, and how well it follows technical best practices for search visibility.

  • Performance

    A fast-loading site reduces bounce rates, improves user satisfaction, and boosts your chances of ranking higher on Google.

  • Accessibility

    An accessible site ensures everyone—including people with disabilities—can engage with your content, which builds trust and may help with legal compliance.

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    Best Practices

    Following technical best practices helps protect your site from security risks and shows users (and Google) that your website is safe and reliable.

  • SEO

    Strong SEO signals help your site appear in search results, making it easier for supporters, donors, and volunteers to find you online.

Check PageSpeed Scores

Is Your Website Slowing You Down?

Performance

A fast website keeps visitors engaged and builds trust. Performance is affected by several technical factors—like your hosting speed, image sizes, how your pages are structured, and whether you’re loading unnecessary scripts behind the scenes. Small changes in these areas can make a big difference in how your site performs.

Action Steps for Nonprofits

  • Choose fast, reliable hosting, not shared hosting

  • Minimize large images and videos on homepage

  • Avoid bloated templates and slow page builders

  • Use a content delivery network (CDN) when possible

Hosting Speed

Your hosting provider directly impacts how quickly your server responds, which affects overall load time and user experience.

server room

Image Size

Large, uncompressed images can dramatically slow down page load times, especially on mobile devices.

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Page Structure

A cluttered or poorly organized page layout makes it harder for browsers to load content efficiently and can overwhelm visitors.

Unused Scripts

Extra code from unused plugins or tracking tools adds weight to your site, slowing down performance without adding value.

magnify glass over a computer screen

Can Everyone Use Your Website?

Accessibility is more than just a checkbox—it’s a commitment to inclusivity. Making your website accessible ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can engage with your content. It also improves usability, builds trust, and supports your mission in meaningful ways.

Accessibility

  • Inclusion for All – Ensures people with disabilities can access your content and participate in your mission.

  • Improves User Experience – Accessible design benefits everyone, including users on mobile devices or with slower internet.

  • Legal Compliance – Helps you meet ADA and WCAG 2.1 standards and reduces the risk of legal action.

  • Clearer Communication – Accessibility forces better structure, readability, and clarity in your content.

  • Stronger Trust & Credibility – Demonstrates that your organization values and respects all audiences.

  • Better SEO – Search engines favor accessible websites with clean code and clear content hierarchy.

screenshot of WAVE accessibility checker

Action Steps for Nonprofits

  • Use proper heading structure (H1, H2, etc.)

  • Ensure text has high contrast

  • Add alt text to all images

  • Enable keyboard navigation

  • Use tools like WAVE, axe, and Lighthouse to audit

Website Hygiene: What Google and Users Expect

Best Practices

Keep your site safe, stable, and functional—so it works smoothly for every visitor, every time. This means following key best practices that protect your site and improve reliability:

  • Security – Use HTTPS, strong passwords, and keep plugins and themes updated

  • Technical Setup – Ensure your site is mobile-friendly, loads without errors, and avoids broken links

  • Clean Code – Minimize unnecessary scripts, use valid HTML, and avoid bloated page builders or outdated tools

Action Steps for Nonprofits

  • Keep WordPress, plugins, and themes up to date

  • Use SSL (https)

  • Eliminate broken links and outdated elements

  • Avoid excessive popups or redirects

  • Enable mobile responsiveness across all devices

Help People Find You Online

Strong SEO helps your nonprofit show up when people search for causes like yours. PageSpeed Insights checks for key SEO fundamentals that affect how easily your site can be found and indexed by search engines.

SEO

  • Page Titles – Clear, relevant titles that describe each page’s content

  • Meta Descriptions – Short summaries that appear in search results and encourage clicks

  • Mobile-Friendliness – Ensures your site looks and works great on phones and tablets

  • Crawlability – Allows search engines to index your site and understand its structure

screenshot of google showing results

Action Steps for Nonprofits

  • Write clear, keyword-based page titles and headings

  • Add meta descriptions for every page

  • Submit your site to Google Search Console

  • Create a blog or update news/events regularly

  • Ensure mobile-first design

Are You Legally Covered Online?

Having the right policies on your website isn’t just a formality—it’s a legal and ethical necessity. From privacy to donation terms, these pages protect your organization, build trust with visitors, and keep you compliant with regulations.

Bonus – Required Policies

  • Privacy Policy – forms, donations, analytics

  • Terms of Use – usage rules and legal protection

  • Donation/Refund Policy – transparency for donors

  • Cookie Notice – simple compliance for tracking tools

Protect your website or application for just $12/mo.

  • Automatic Policy Updates – Stay compliant as privacy laws change, without lifting a finger.

  • Covers All Essential Policies – Generate Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and more in one easy step.

  • Affordable Legal Protection – A budget-friendly alternative to hiring a lawyer.

  • Builds Trust with Donors and Visitors – Shows you’re serious about data protection and transparency.

  • Quick and Easy Setup – Just copy and paste the embed code—no tech skills required.

Thank You For Attending

Thank you so much for attending today’s workshop on mastering effective website strategies for nonprofits. I hope you’re leaving with practical insights and tools to help your organization thrive online. If you have any questions, need support, or want to explore how we can work together to improve your website, please don’t hesitate to reach out—I’d love to connect!

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