Protect your nonprofit from unethical web design agencies

Your website is a big part of your nonprofit organization, no matter who you are. However, maintaining your website takes a considerable amount of time and effort—and managing a nonprofit doesn’t come with that kind of time!

That is why organizations opt to hire an agency or web development company to help with designing and managing their website. Unfortunately, hiring website management services often has negative results. It’s critical to protect your nonprofit organization’s online assets in the event of a complicated situation.

I can’t tell you how many horror stories I’ve heard from nonprofit leaders about the nightmare they’ve experienced with a web design agency. From not having administrative access to having their entire website shut down!

Your nonprofit organization is built upon the values of integrity, stewardship, and excellence. So, why shouldn’t your web design agency be the same way?

While I can’t make every web design agency ethical, I can go on a crusade helping nonprofit organizations with the power of information.
You deserve access to your website, as well as the knowledge to manage it on your own. There’s no need to remain stuck with an unresponsive agency to manage your website. All you need is a bit of knowledge and an advocate.
If you’re a more of a visual learner, here’s a video that covers some of the same information in the article.

1. Register Your Own Domain Name

It’s never a good idea to have a web design agency register your domain. It would be like letting someone else sign a mortgage then expecting the property to be yours.
That’s just not how it works.
When you register the domain, it becomes your digital property. Unethical agencies want to sign up for you so that it becomes their property.
Definitely not something you want to deal with – especially when a domain name is specific to your organization. This aspect of your digital identity is vital property to your nonprofit, so don’t leave it in the hands of someone else.

2. Insist on Full Administrative Access to Your Hosting Account

The hosting account is where your files exist. It’s the backend stuff that makes your website look and function beautifully. Without them, you won’t have a website.
Unless you’re a designer, you probably won’t use this access much.
However, you still need it to ensure you have complete control over your files. The last thing you want to experience is an unethical web design agency stealing or deleting your website.

3. Get Full Administrative Access to Your WordPress Dashboard

In addition to hosting access, you also need administrative access to your WordPress dashboard. Don’t settle for anything less!
Administrative access depends on your user role. WordPress offer 5 roles, only one of which gives you full access. I’ll let you guess which one it is…

• Subscriber
• Contributor
• Author
• Editor
• Administrator

If you guessed Administrator, you are correct!
Push for that access and don’t let an unethical design agency talk you out of it. One of the best things you can do for your nonprofit is to protect its online assets and be in control!