Whether you’re planning a new website or wondering if your current one is doing its job, this checklist covers what every UK charity website needs. It’s based on what we build into our own projects, and on what we found when our crawler read the websites of every charity on the UK registers.
Work through it with whoever looks after your site. Anything you can’t tick is worth a conversation.
The short version
- Make the basics obvious: what you do, who you help, how to get help and how to contact you.
- Make giving easy: a visible Donate button, a form that works on a phone, Gift Aid and a monthly option.
- Show the legal details: your registered name and charity number, and company details if you are a charitable company.
- Publish the policies: privacy, cookies, accessibility and complaints.
- Keep it accessible, fast and secure, and check that the website address on your charity register entry is right.
The basics
- A clear statement of what you do and who you help, visible without scrolling on the homepage. One or two sentences, in plain English.
- A route to help. If you provide services, make “Get help” as prominent as “Donate”. People in a hurry shouldn’t have to hunt for it.
- Where you work. Say which areas you cover so people know whether you can help them.
- Contact details: an email address, a phone number if you have one, and a postal address.
- A correct entry on the charity register. In a measured crawl, 17.9% of the website addresses recorded on the register were wrong. Check yours and update it with your regulator if it is out of date. See the research.
Donations
- A Donate button on every page, in the same place each time. Our crawl found that only 37.2% of the 55,300 charity websites that answered show a visible way to donate online. See what we found.
- A donation form that works on a phone, with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and as few steps as possible.
- Gift Aid captured properly, with HMRC-compliant declaration wording. Our guide to Gift Aid on online donations explains what a valid declaration needs.
- A monthly giving option, because regular gifts are worth far more to most charities over time.
- A thank-you page and an instant receipt, so donors know it worked and you can measure it.
- Other ways to give: fundraising events, gifts in wills, payroll giving and corporate support, each with a short explanation and a contact.
If you’re weighing up platforms, our comparison of JustGiving alternatives sets out the costs, and on-site vs off-site donations explains the trade-offs.
Legal details you need to show
- Charities in England and Wales: if your income was over £10,000 last year, section 39 of the Charities Act 2011 requires you to state that you are a registered charity on fundraising appeals and financial documents. Showing your registered name and charity number in the website footer covers your online appeals simply.
- Charities in Scotland: OSCR requires your charity name, Scottish Charity Number and the fact that you are a charity on your website home page. OSCR suggests putting them on every page.
- Charitable companies: company law also requires your company name, company number, registered office address and where you are registered on your website.
Trust and getting involved
- An about page with your history, your trustees and the people who run the charity day to day.
- Your annual report and accounts, or a link to them on the charity register.
- Impact you can show: stories, figures and quotes from the people you work with, shared with their consent.
- Volunteering: what roles exist, what they involve and how to apply.
- News and events that are actually kept up to date. An events page last updated two years ago does more harm than no events page.
- The Fundraising Regulator badge if you are registered with it.
Policies
- A privacy notice that explains what personal data you collect through the site, why and for how long.
- Cookie consent that works, and a cookie policy. In our research, 62% of charity homepages that load analytics cookies show no consent tool. See the research.
- An accessibility statement that says how accessible the site is and how to report a problem.
- A complaints procedure, including how to complain about fundraising and about how you use personal data.
- Safeguarding information if you work with children or adults at risk, including who to contact with a concern.
Accessibility, speed and security
- Built to WCAG 2.2 AA, and tested with a keyboard and a screen reader, not just an automated checker.
- Alt text on images that carry meaning, and empty alt text on decorative ones.
- Fast on a phone, especially the homepage and the donation page.
- Secure and up to date: HTTPS everywhere, with WordPress, plugins and PHP kept current. Our free WordPress version checker is a quick first look.
- Email that can’t easily be forged. Your website domain also sends your email. In our research, 87% of charity domains publish no enforcing DMARC policy. See the research.
Being found
- A clear title and description on every page, written for people, saying what the page offers.
- Pages for the questions people actually search, such as how to get help with a specific problem in your area.
- Google Search Console set up, so you can see how people find you and fix problems.
- A Google Ad Grant, if you’re eligible. It gives up to $10,000 a month in search advertising. Our Ad Grants guide explains how to apply and keep it.
How we can help
Every website we build covers this whole list, from Gift Aid to accessibility statements. If yours is missing a few, we can help you prioritise. See how we approach charity web design, or get in touch.
Questions charities ask
Do we have to show our charity number on our website?
In Scotland, yes: OSCR requires your charity details on your website home page. In England and Wales, registered charities with income over £10,000 must state their registered status on fundraising appeals and financial documents, so putting your registered name and number in the footer is the simplest way to cover your website.
Does a charity website need an accessibility statement?
It is a legal requirement for public sector bodies and good practice for everyone else. It shows people you have thought about access and tells them how to report a problem.
What should be on a charity homepage?
What you do and who you help, a way to get help if you provide services, a Donate button, a sign of your impact, and clear links to the main things people come for.
How often should we review our website?
Check this list once a year, and look at your donation page, contact details and policies every few months. Anything out of date erodes trust quickly.
