BIG Alliance launches new-look website

Written by Luke Brown, BIG Alliance Community Project Manager

The BIG Alliance has a new website. As a team, we felt it was time for a refresh and so earlier this year we took the leap to develop something ourselves in-house. Do take a moment and have a look (your feedback is welcome!).

It is coincidental, but rather fortunate, that we have launched a new website in this pandemic amid a surge in the use of digital. This is a time when charities’ messaging and timely information about services is more vital than ever. Within our team, we are very lucky to have some of the skills and confidence needed to build a new website, make ongoing changes, and utilise analytics and SEO.

Not every small charity will have the same luxury. The ‘Charity Digital Skills Report 2020’ from Skills Platform found that 82% of charities rate themselves as fair to poor at making the most of their website and analytics. The report also found that the top digital priority for charities in the next 12 months is improving their websites, followed by their online presence and social media channels.

Before lockdown, many small charities would be forgiven for placing their website lower on their list of priorities and depending on ‘offline’/analogue ways of communicating with their stakeholders. The reality now, more than ever, is that charity websites are an essential tool for sharing service updates with beneficiaries and demonstrating impact to funders.

What we’ve been doing to help others

BIG Alliance and East London Business Alliance recognised this need early on and created a remote volunteering opportunity geared around website feedback for charities. We have been working with volunteers from various companies who can provide actionable feedback to charities about their existing websites. The volunteer support focuses on clear messaging, user journeys, user experience, functionality, and accessibility. The aim is to give charities the confidence to take further steps towards a better website.

At BIG Alliance, we are also looking to run an online website consultation in a ‘hackathon’ style environment, giving charities access to skilled volunteers who can quickly troubleshoot and tackle issues. Watch this space (on our new website!) for further updates about this.

If you are a business that can help charities with website development, or a charity that is looking for this type of support, please email info@thebigalliance.org.uk for a chat with one of the BIG Alliance team.