The 10-Minute Website Audit Every Nonprofit Should Run Today
A simple checklist to spot the biggest problems on your nonprofit website. No tech skills needed.
Key Takeaways
- • You can audit your site in 10 minutes
- • Start on your phone, not your desk
- • Broken links and slow load hurt most
- • Write down what you find
In This Article:
You don't need a developer to spot major website problems. Grab your phone. Set a timer. Follow these five steps. You'll know what to fix first.
Why Run an Audit
Most donors and volunteers visit your site on a phone. If it's broken there, you're losing people before they even read. An audit shows you what they see.
Ten minutes is enough to catch the big stuff. Things like broken donate buttons or text you can't read. Fix those first.
Step 1: Open Your Site on Your Phone
Don't start on your laptop. Open your site on your phone. Scroll the homepage. Does everything fit on the screen? Can you tap buttons without zooming?
Note what feels wrong. Text too small? Images cut off? Navigation that doesn't work? Write it down. That list is your first to-do list.
“We thought our site was fine. Then we looked at it on a phone. The donate button was below the fold and tiny. No wonder our mobile gifts were low.”
Step 2: Try to Find the Donate Button
Pretend you're a new donor. How many taps does it take to reach the donate page? Three or fewer is good. More than five is a problem.
Click the button. Does the form load? Does it work on mobile? Many nonprofits have donate pages that break on phones. Check yours.
Step 3: Time How Long It Loads
Close your browser. Open it again. Go to your homepage. Time how long it takes to fully load. Use the stopwatch on your phone.
Under three seconds is fine. Over five seconds and people leave. If it's slow, images might be too big. Or your host might need an upgrade.
Step 4: Check for Stale Content
Scroll through your pages. Look for old dates. Past events still listed. Staff who left years ago. News from 2022. Stale content makes you look inactive.
Update or remove it. Even small fixes like changing a date show you care. Donors notice.
What to Do Next
You now have a list of issues. Pick the top three. Fix them this week. Don't try to do everything at once.
Find and Fix What Matters Most
A quick audit gives you a clear picture of where your site stands. The challenge is knowing which issues to fix first and how to fix them without a developer. Most of the biggest problems have straightforward solutions.
AYNI helps nonprofits run deeper website audits and prioritize fixes that have the biggest impact on donations, signups, and search visibility. We turn your findings into an action plan you can actually follow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I audit my nonprofit website for free? +
Open your site on your phone, check the donate page, time how long it loads, and look for stale content. Use free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and WAVE for deeper checks. Ten minutes is enough to spot the biggest issues.
What should I check first in a nonprofit website audit? +
Start with your mobile experience and your donation page. These are the two areas that directly affect gifts. If they are broken or slow, fix them before anything else.
How often should nonprofits audit their websites? +
Run a quick audit every month and a deeper review every quarter. After any major update or plugin change, test again. Regular checks prevent small problems from becoming big ones.
What are the most common nonprofit website problems? +
Slow load times, broken donate buttons, stale content, poor mobile experience, and broken links. These are the issues that cost you the most visitors and donations.
Do I need a developer to fix nonprofit website issues? +
Not usually. Many common issues like updating content, compressing images, fixing broken links, and improving navigation can be done by anyone with basic CMS access.
Does a website audit help with nonprofit SEO? +
Yes. Many audit findings overlap with SEO issues. Fixing slow load times, broken links, and missing alt text improves both user experience and search rankings at the same time.
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Related Resources
Why Your Nonprofit's Website Feels Outdated (And How to Fix It Fast)
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Read moreHow to Make Your Donation Page Convert Without Tech Overwhelm
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