Volunteers are the lifeblood of many nonprofit organizations. But for countless nonprofits, even after actively posting opportunities on their websites, volunteer sign-ups remain frustratingly low—and it’s hard to pinpoint why.
Often, the missing piece is a volunteer experience that’s intuitive, clear, and action-driven. A user-friendly volunteer website isn’t just about good design—it’s about making it easy for people to find opportunities, sign up, and stay engaged.
In this blog, we’ll cover exactly how you can optimize your site to boost recruitment and build lasting volunteer connections.
Top 3 Common Volunteer Website Pain Points
Nonprofits often face significant challenges when it comes to volunteer engagement, many of which stem from website inefficiencies.
Typically, nonprofit websites:
- Aren’t easily navigable: Many organizations don’t realize their "Learn About Volunteering" page is buried within their site or difficult to navigate. Prospective volunteers may then abandon your site before even filling out a form because they can’t locate it.
- Don’t properly capture volunteer information: Volunteer managers often assume volunteers are losing interest when, in reality, their inquiries go unanswered due to inefficient form submissions.
- Seem overwhelming to change: Many nonprofit leaders feel they lack control or knowledge on how to improve their volunteer site.
Here’s the good news: there are plenty of ways you and your team can make your website a magnet for volunteers—for good.
5 Ways to Improve Your Volunteer Website
1. Make Volunteer Opportunities Easy to Find
Nonprofits average 12,708 website visitors each month—but it doesn't matter how much traffic your site gets if people can't quickly find where to volunteer. If opportunities are buried, hard to navigate, or unclear, potential volunteers are likely to leave before taking action.
To capture as many visitors as possible, your website should have:
- A clearly labeled “Volunteer” or “Get Involved” button in the main navigation menu.
- A prominent call-to-action (CTA) on the homepage that directs users to volunteer opportunities.
- A search-friendly volunteer portal that allows filtering by location, skills, and availability.
2. Streamline the Sign-Up Process
A long or complicated sign-up process can cause potential volunteers to abandon their application. Optimize the process by:
- Reducing the number of steps in your volunteer registration.
- Offering quick sign-ups via social media or email logins.
- Automating follow-ups with confirmation emails and next steps.
- Providing an FAQ section to assist with common registration questions.
- Providing clear descriptions of volunteer roles, including expectations and time commitments, so potential volunteers can easily understand how they can contribute.
3. Enhance Overall Navigation and Usability
Your website should be as easy as user-friendly as possible. To ensure that your website is structured in a way that guides visitors naturally toward taking action, be sure that it:
- Looks great on mobile devices
- Has a clean and simple layout that helps visitors find information quickly.
- Clear CTAs on every page so it’s easy to transition from learning about your organization to signing up.
- Reflects your organization’s branding and messaging throughout so users aren’t put off or confused.
Pro Tip: Use a system like Get Connected to make your volunteer site stand out with your brand’s colors, logo, and content—no coding needed.
Learn more about Get Connected's Custom Branding capabilities
4. Create an Event-Specific Volunteer Landing Page
Have an event coming up? Instead of scattering information across multiple pages, consolidate all volunteer-related details into a well-organized, easy-to-navigate event landing page.
This page should include:
- A compelling headline that highlights the impact of volunteering.
- A brief overview of your organization’s mission and why volunteers are essential.
- Event-day essentials such as the event time, description, location, and contact information
- Engaging visuals, such as photos of volunteers in action.
5. Improve Communication and Engagement
While creating a simple and easy way for volunteers to sign up on your page is a great first step, ensuring that what happens after the sign-up is just as essential.
To maintain engagement after the initial volunteer sign-up, be sure to:
- Automate volunteer confirmations and reminders.
- Provide a dedicated contact for volunteer inquiries.
- Create a welcome email series to introduce new volunteers to your organization’s mission, upcoming events, and how they can get involved further.
Volunteer Website Optimization Checklist
Use this quick checklist to assess where your website stands—and what to improve.
Your website should have:
- A visible, clearly labeled “Volunteer” or “Get Involved” button in your top navigation
- A dedicated volunteer landing page that includes your mission, impact, and current opportunities
- A streamlined sign-up process with minimal steps and clear instructions
- A mobile-responsive layout that loads quickly on phones
- Automated confirmation emails and reminders for sign-ups
- Clear CTAs (calls-to-action) on every relevant page
Make Volunteer Sign-Ups Simple and Smooth—for Good
Clunky websites can hinder your volunteer program. But with a well-optimized website and a few strategic tools, you can create a welcoming and efficient experience that drives engagement and long-term commitment.
With Get Connected, one of the leading volunteer management systems, your team can boost sign-ups—and long-term engagement and retention—with:
- An easy-to-use volunteer portal for tracking shifts and updates.
- A user-friendly volunteer app where supporters can sign up and connect with your cause
- A robust volunteer calendar that allows supporters to quickly view and register for shifts
Want to learn more about how Get Connected can improve your volunteer sign-ups? Book a free demo today →
