At the AFP International Conference 2013 in San Diego, I attended a session where Raheel Gauba and Sophia Latto dispensed a firehose of information in their presentation 52 Tweaks in 52 Weeks. Much was to be learned from the 75-minute session to improve nonprofit websites.
I want to break it down for you a bit. In the session they shared a number of free resources to help improve your online presence. Here, I present to you three great tools to get your nonprofit web design looking spiffy:
1. Pixlr Express
Forget expensive photo applications. Pixlr is a free, feature-rich, photo-editing website that allows you to upload your photos so that you can point-and-click-edit your way to better looking images for your nonprofit website. In addition to resizing your photos, you can add a number of effects to give them a more professional look. But remember, just because you can get all fancy doesn’t mean you should. There are some bells and whistles on the site that can lower your professionalism rating with one poorly placed cartoon heart.
2. Compfight
We know photos create a tremendous impact to your nonprofit website visitors. And photos of your people are the best for telling your story. But, if you’re not a shutterbug, head on over to compfight.com and search thousands of images that have been made available for your use through Creative Commons. It’s important on this site to ensure you’ve searched for Creative Commons images only and that you respect all copyrights.
3. Piktochart
Infographics are a consumer-friendly way to convey complex information, especially numbers and statistics. You could hire a graphic designer and spend weeks and potentially tons of cash to get that information published. Or use Piktochart, a tool that allows you to quickly publish an infographic to spruce up any annual report or blog post. They have a free version, but I recommend spending the $29 to get more out of the tool.
If your nonprofit is interested in the other 49 tweaks to make your website better, comment below and I’ll happily send you the link to Gauba and Latto’s presentation.