Science Communication Nonprofit Website Design

We’re looking for volunteer help designing a simple, straightforward website that explains what we do and helps people understand how to engage with us.

What we’re trying to do:

* Explain our work in plain language
* Give visitors enough context to understand why we exist
* Make it clear how to learn more, attend something, support the work, or reach out

What we already have:

* A defined mission and point of view
* Brand assets
* Written content (mission, program descriptions, funder materials)

What we need help with:

* Organizing content into a clear site structure
* Designing a homepage that’s easy to scan and understand
* Creating a few basic page templates (About, Programs, Support, etc.)
* Design guidance we can realistically maintain ourselves

We care about readability and accessibility above all, but a pleasing UX would be lovely.

Scope:

* Sitemap / basic information architecture
* Homepage design
* 2–3 supporting page templates
* Light design system guidance
* Connections/Integrations with GiveButter, etc.

We currently use Canva Pro for our website design because we're nonprofit executives and not talented web designers, like yourself. We are more than happy to move to another platform, assuming it's within our budget and technical capabilities to maintain. I (the ED) have some limited experience with WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace, but not a ton. If you're willing to help us, we're willing and able to learn. 

Thanks in advance for your willingness to help bring more science to an underserved demographic!

This project helps us remove friction between our work and the people it’s meant to reach.

Right now, most of what we do happens in physical rooms; live science events for adults, public conversations, and materials designed to make science feel a little less intimidating and more usable in everyday life. The website’s job is not to explain everything, but to make it easier for people to find us, understand us, and decide to engage.

A clearer website directly supports our goals by:

* Making it easier for adults to attend science events who might not otherwise seek them out
* Helping funders and partners quickly understand what kind of organization we are and how we operate
* Reducing confusion and follow-up work for a very small team

For the awesome and generous volunteers, the impact is pretty tangible. The structure, layouts, and design decisions from this project will be used immediately and repeatedly. Your work becomes the primary way new people encounter our organization, and we're more than happy to provide credit where due.

Downstream, that means:

* More adults showing up to science events who don’t already see themselves as “science people”
* Clearer entry points for partnerships and support
* A stronger foundation for programs that reach families indirectly by changing how adults relate to science

This is an important piece of our work. A few thoughtful choices here will shape how people first experience The Third Pattern and how easily they can connect with what we do.

We’d be genuinely grateful for your time and perspective. If you care about clarity, access, and helping good work reach more people, your contribution will make a real difference.

Internally, there’s full buy-in on the purpose and scope of this website. The organization is small, decisions are centralized, and the people involved in this project are the same people who will implement and maintain the site once it’s complete. There’s no committee layer or approval bottleneck to work around.

We’ve already gathered and organized the core materials the site will be built from, including:

* Mission and positioning language
* Program descriptions
* Brand assets and basic visual guidelines
* Funder- and public-facing written content

We’re clear about what this project is and is not. We’re not asking volunteers to define our strategy, invent content from scratch, or maintain the site long-term. We’re asking for help translating existing work into a clear structure and usable design.

The outcomes of this project will be directly put into use by our team. We currently manage our website ourselves and plan to continue doing so. Any designs, templates, or systems developed through this project will be implemented immediately and maintained internally. We care a lot about choosing solutions we can realistically support over time.

We’re also comfortable learning. If a better platform or structure is recommended, we’re open to it as long as it fits within reasonable budget and technical constraints. We’ll be hands-on during the project so knowledge doesn’t walk away at the end.