The Hero Website
Modern. Mobile-friendly. Manageable.
FOR NONPROFITS WHO HAVE OUTGROWN THEIR WEBSITE
Your organization has evolved. Has your website kept up?
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Visitors get lost in navigation
Your site has grown one page at a time. Programs change. Staff change. Campaigns evolve. Before long, your site technically contains everything…but visitors have to work way to hard to navigate it.
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The visuals are lagging behind.
The work you do is thoughtful, capable, and forward-moving. Your website is…dated. Dusty. Downright frustrating. The site should reflect credibility when donors, funders, and community members look you up but it’s just not there yet.
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Visitors still don’t quite understand what you do.
Your mission and programs may make perfect sense once someone talks to your team, but online, the information can feel scattered, overly detailed, or difficult to navigate
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Giving shouldn’t feel like a scavenger hunt.
Someone who is ready to donate shouldn’t have to hunt for the right page, figure out where the money goes, or navigate a disconnected giving experience to support you.
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Simple updates feel oddly complicated
You're not a developer. That's ok. Changing a photo, adding a program, publishing an event, or updating a staff bio shouldn’t require a hiring developer—or half a day of troubleshooting.
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There's not enough time...or money.
Your team knows the website needs a redo. It’s been roughly the same since 2018, for goodness’ sakes. But you don’t have the time and don’t want to spend the entire operations budget.
An updated nonprofit website can do a lot more than look better.
The hero website
We designed the Hero Website to give established nonprofits a cleaner, clearer, easier-to-manage digital home.
Instead of simply giving your existing website a fresh coat of paint, we step back and rethink how the whole thing should work. We look at what information matters most, how visitors move through the site, what your team needs to manage after launch, and what your existing website and donor data can tell us about the people you’re trying to reach.
The result is a modern website that helps people understand your mission faster, trust your organization sooner, and take the next step more easily. And because your team still has to live with the site after we leave, we build it on a platform you can actually manage and grow on.
If you don’t approve the website strategy, we stop there. You get a full refund, and keep the audience research and planning framework we created together.
Beyond the basics
The Hero Website includes
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A stronger website starts with understanding who’s using it, what they need, and where the current experience is falling short. Before the Roadmap Session, we’ll review your existing website and donor data, conduct independent audience research, and gather internal perspectives so we can plan the new site around real behavior and priorities—not guesses.
Website + analytics review to understand traffic patterns, high-value pages, common entry points, and areas of friction
CRM + donor data review to identify useful audience patterns while protecting individual identities
Independent audience research to better understand your supporters, community, and the broader context around your mission
Three short stakeholder questionnaires sent to a leadership team member, client-facing staff member, and volunteer to capture different perspectives
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Once the research is complete, we bring the insights into a focused strategy session with your leadership team. Together, we’ll clarify what the new website needs to communicate, who it needs to serve, and how visitors should move through it before any design work begins.
Messaging priorities so the most important information is clear and easy to find
Site structure + sitemap planning to organize programs, resources, and calls to action around the visitor journey
Wireframe direction to establish how key pages should flow before visual design begins
Conversion + engagement planning for actions like donating, volunteering, contacting your team, or learning more
Platform + content recommendations based on what your staff needs to manage after launch
And because the Roadmap comes before the build, if you don’t approve the strategy, we stop there. You receive a full refund and keep the research and planning framework we created together.
I’d keep these as two separate accordions rather than merging them. It reinforces that the research is actual pre-work, while the Roadmap is where that information gets turned into decisions.
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We’ll design and build up to 10 core pages around the priorities established in your Roadmap Session. Rather than forcing your content into a generic template, we’ll create a structure that helps visitors understand your organization quickly and move naturally toward the next step.
Custom page layouts built around your programs, audiences, and content needs
Responsive design so the site works smoothly across desktop, tablet, and mobile
Clear calls to action for giving, volunteering, contacting your team, learning more, or taking the next relevant step
Thoughtful navigation designed to make complex organizations easier to explore
Consistent visual system so every page feels connected to the same organization
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Starting from a blank document can be one of the biggest bottlenecks in a website project, so we don’t hand that job back to your team. We’ll develop initial drafts using what we learn from the Roadmap Session, your existing materials, and conversations with leadership.
First-draft page copy for the core pages included in your site
Mission and program messaging shaped around clarity, accessibility, and audience needs
Calls to action written to help visitors understand what to do next
Existing content refinement where strong material already exists and simply needs to be clarified or reorganized
Collaborative review so your team can refine language for accuracy, nuance, and voice
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Photography can make or break the first impression of a website. So let’s make a great first impression. We include a focused photography session to create fresh, authentic images for the new site while also making thoughtful use of the assets you already have.
1-hour on-location photo session focused on staff, programs, spaces, or other priority visuals
Website-ready image selection designed to support the pages and story developed during the project
Integration of existing photography where your current library still serves the site well
Image preparation for web use so visuals are sized and organized appropriately for the build
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We’ll make sure the new site launches with a clean technical foundation so search engines can understand the site and your organization isn’t losing visibility because of avoidable setup issues.
SEO-friendly site structure with clear page hierarchy and organization
Image alt text to improve accessibility and search visibility
Redirect setup for important URLs from the previous site
Google Search Console connection so your team can monitor search performance after launch
Guidance for Google Business Profile setup if your organization does not already have one
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We don’t want you to feel abandoned when we give you the keys. Before launch, we’ll show staff how to handle the everyday updates they’re most likely to make themselves.
Live staff training on the basics of managing the site
Guidance for editing text, updating images, and creating new posts or events
Platform-specific instruction based on whether the site is built in Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress
30-day post-launch check-in to catch issues, answer questions, and revisit anything from training that needs another pass
A website your team can manage with confidence instead of being afraid to touch
Your website should work as hard as you do
What your website can help you do:
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Make a stronger first impression
Donors, funders, partners, volunteers, and community members will often visit your website before they ever speak with your team. A modern, intentional site helps your organization feel established, trustworthy, and ready for what’s next.
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Explain your mission more clearly
Complex programs are easier to understand when the information is organized around what visitors actually need to know. A clearer site helps people quickly grasp what you do, who you serve, and why the work matters.
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Make giving easier
Thoughtful calls to action, clearer donation pathways, and better integration with your donor platform can reduce friction between someone feeling inspired and actually making a gift.
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Support fundraising campaigns
Your website becomes a stronger home base for campaigns, events, grants, major-gift conversations, and donor outreach—giving your team somewhere credible to send people when they want to learn more.
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Build community trust
A site that feels current, organized, and transparent reinforces the sense that your nonprofit is stable, active, and thoughtfully managed.
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Give your team back some control
With a manageable platform and practical training, your staff can handle routine updates without waiting on a developer every time something changes.
Why websites matter more than any other media piece.
A strong donor journey starts with a strong digital home.
A compelling video can move someone emotionally. A strong social campaign can build awareness. An email can get someone curious enough to click.
But sooner or later, most digital fundraising journeys lead back to your website.
If someone watches a powerful impact film, feels inspired to give, and then lands on a website that feels dated, confusing, slow, hard to navigate, or difficult to use on their phone, that emotional momentum can disappear fast.
Case Study: Oregon Cancer Foundation
“Review”
The Oregon Cancer Foundation website had not been redesigned since 2014, needed a developer for major updates, and no longer reflected their reach. Partnering with Story Squire, their team was able to launch a new, fully mobile-friendly website that gave them the power to make ongoing changes, announcements, and promote their support events for cancer patients.
Armed with the assets provided by our creatives, their incredible development team utilized the content to drive their campaign forward to reach a number of additional supporters…
raising a total of $293,804 (and counting!)
So what’s the process?
Strategy…then development
If the website direction isn’t right, get a full refund.
Before we build a single page, we work with your team to clarify the audience, messaging, site structure, and priorities.
That means you’ll have a clear sitemap and direction before the project moves into full design—so we’re not spending weeks polishing the wrong solution. We’d rather solve the hard thinking up front than surprise you with a beautiful website that doesn’t actually work for your organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Ideally, we recommend starting 3–4 months before your fundraiser, campaign launch, or event. That gives us enough time for audience research, story strategy, scheduling interviews, production, editing, and your team’s review without rushing the process.
Because most projects take about 60 days, the extra lead time also gives your team breathing room before the content needs to go live.
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Most Impact Story System projects are completed within approximately 60 days, depending on scheduling, stakeholder availability, and feedback. We’ll establish the production and delivery schedule with your team at the beginning of the project.
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We designed the Impact Story System to keep the lift on your staff relatively light.
Your team will primarily participate in a few short questionnaires, the 90-minute strategy session, interview coordination, and key review points. We handle the audience research, planning, production, writing, editing, and asset development.The exact time commitment will vary by organization, but we’ll outline your team’s responsibilities at the beginning of the project so there are no surprises.
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You don't need to. Identifying the right story is part of the process. Our audience research, stakeholder questionnaires, and strategy session help us determine which people, experiences, and messages best support your fundraising goals.
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That depends on the story! Interview subjects might include clients, staff members, volunteers, donors, community partners, or others who can speak authentically about your organization's impact. We'll help you determine the strongest combination during our strategy session.
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No. Fundraising events are a common reason nonprofits come to us, but the Impact Story System can also support capital campaigns, annual giving, donor cultivation, awareness campaigns, major organizational initiatives, or simply a need for stronger year-round storytelling.
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Yes. Part of our strategy is thinking beyond the premiere of the hero film and considering how the story can support your larger communications and fundraising efforts.
We’ll also provide a written implementation guide with recommendations for how to share the content and best practices. -
We don’t move into production until your team feels confident in the direction.
If the strategy doesn’t feel right, we’ll refine it together. And if we ultimately can’t develop a direction your team approves, you can walk away before production begins and keep the audience research and messaging framework we’ve developed.
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No. Some organizations come to us with a specific fundraiser or campaign in mind, while others simply know they need stronger stories and content. The strategy process helps us determine how the story can best support your broader communications and fundraising goals.
The Hero Website
an asset for your communications strategy.
The Hero Website is a focused 2–3 month engagement for nonprofits that have outgrown their current site and are ready for something clearer, more modern, and easier to manage.
We handle the strategy, structure, copywriting, design, build, photography, integration, SEO setup, launch, and training. That way, your team doesn’t have to coordinate five different vendors or spend countless hours troubleshooting just to get a better website up and running.
Starting at $8,500
Built on Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress with Elementor • Completed in about 120 days • Website strategy approved before development—or your money back.