Innoppl – Blog

Why both web presence and mobile presence are important for nonprofits

Running a nonprofit organization for a noble cause is a challenging task. However, it is not an impossible task. The trick lies in strengthening your organization with the help from like-minded people who are ready to extend their helping hands for the noble cause. Having a strong web and mobile presence can help you find many supporters. This is one of the main reasons for hosting nonprofit websites. However, one major mistake that most nonprofits make is trying their hands on it. Developing the website or the mobile app with the help of in-house technicians that are often ignorant of the technologies or trends is a bad move. Utilizing the services of in-house techies may save you a few bucks initially, but most of the websites do not perform well when it comes to ranking or attracting supporters.

It is true that there are plenty of website builders and app builder out there. These online platforms that offer free website development and app development aren’t very effective for nonprofits. To be honest, why would someone looking to make business online offer a free tool? You should always remember that nothing comes free of cost on the internet. Every one of the websites out there on the internet is looking to earn some money for its owners. In reality, the so called free website builders and app builders are a trap to lure innocent people who like to gain something from the internet. While a few websites keep reminding you to opt for paid services in an annoying manner, a few others simply ask for your credit card details even for the free trial. Often people that wish to save a few bucks end up paying through their nose.

This is why it is important to consider standard service providers that high quality services at reasonable prices. There is a vast difference between the websites and apps built with automated online builders and those that are manually developed by skilled developers. Clean coding has its impact, when it comes to performance of websites and mobile applications. While cluttered coding in websites can be a great hindrance in optimizing the website for search engines, imperfect coding in mobile applications can make the app fragile especially during complex processing. Unless the website or the app is professionally designed, developed and tested, you can’t expect any positive impact from these tools.

Although there are several web technologies that can be utilized to build websites, CMS platforms are the right choice for nonprofits. It’s true that there are a number of CMS platforms out there and each has its own pros and cons. Some of the important reasons for using CMS platforms for nonprofits include easy to update content; easy to optimize for search engines; lots of modules and plug-ins; responsive themes; and much more. If you are expecting your organization to grow into a large charitable institution, you need to give it the right online presence. Drupal is an open source CMS developed in PHP. The CMS is known for its scalability, flexibility, and robustness. It is capable of housing multiple content formats and can remain stable amidst heavy traffic. This is why Drupal is used in many government websites and in websites of corporate companies.

Every organization today must have a website of its own, but having a website is just the first step in the digital world. Today, it is all about mobile presence. Since the invasion of the smart mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, the internet is being accessed more by the mobile devices than the standard desktop computers and laptops. It is true that responsive themes of CMS websites can be optimized for mobile devices. However, mobile applications often outsmart mobile websites. If you want to keep in pace with the ongoing trends, it is not a wise thing to ignore mobile apps.

When it comes to mobile apps, there are a number of mobile platforms in the market. Although a handful of them are liked by many users, the two most dominant ones include the android and the iOS mobile operating systems. Developing a mobile app compatible with either of the platforms can be highly lucrative for the nonprofits. In case, you feel you may miss some of the elite donors if the other platforms are left out, you can opt for cross platform compatible or hybrid apps. However, the cross platform compatible HTML5 apps need continuous internet connection and their performance is often not as good as that of the native applications.

Unlike mobile websites that need an internet connection, native apps have the ability to store data on the local device and enable the user to view data offline. Integrating the mobile app with the website can help you achieve more. For instance, you can allow the donors to view any latest information you update on your website. Other advantages of using mobile apps include sending push notifications and in-app messages, enabling them to pay donations on the move, or even recruit volunteers that wish to help you in organizing special events.

At Innoppl, we have been developing Drupal websites, android and iOS apps for nonprofits for the past five years. We have been chosen as one among the “20 Most Promising Enterprise Mobility Solution Providers” in 2014 by the popular online magazine cioreview.com. We are aware of the latest trends in the society, and we provide the highest quality services to our customers. We have excellent programmers, qualified testers and the best infrastructure to design, develop, and test websites and mobile applications. If you are running a nonprofit organization and you are looking for ways to bring in money, do not hesitate to contact our developers.