I work with purpose-driven businesses and charities every day, keeping their online presence running smoothly, securely and fast so that they can get on with their business of doing good.

But even the most passionate, values-aligned businesses overlook at least a few predictable aspects on their websites. And these mistakes can cost you trust, conversions, and opportunities to expand your impact.

Whether you’re a B Corp, a charity, a climate founder, or simply a business that genuinely wants to make the world better – your website isn’t just a digital brochure. It’s the place where your mission meets your audience.

The good news? Once you know what to look out for, they’re easy to fix. After 30 years in IT – from consulting to Fortune 500 companies to supporting B Corps, purpose-driven SMEs and Charities – I’ve seen these items overlooked time and time again.

These are mistakes that are particularly relevant to purpose-driven online organisations.

1. Forgetting to Lead With Your “Why”

Your mission is your greatest asset. Yet too many purpose-driven businesses jump straight into what they do – listing products, services, or projects – without clearly stating why they exist.

When someone lands on your site, they’re looking for alignment. They’re silently asking: “Do these people care about what I care about?”

Unlike traditional businesses, you’re competing on values – if visitors can’t quickly see your why, they’ll assume you’re just greenwashing.

The fix

Make sure your homepage quickly establishes your story and your “why.” Use clear, heartfelt language. Share the impact you’re aiming for. Don’t bury your values in an “About Us” subpage – put them front and center.

Bonus tip

Today people want it fast. A very effective way to do this is to fill the first section of the home page with a large, clear statement – called a “hero section” – that shows your why right away in a few short words.

An example

I recently worked on a project with a Swiss charity focused on ensuring people with learning difficulties have full access to education. The first thing a visitor saw on the home page was that they were accepting registrations for their next season of programs. But who were these for? What did they offer? I had to scroll right down the page to see any statement of who they worked with and why. As soon as we added it above the fold, people “got it” right away.

2. Speaking in Jargon, Not Human Language

It’s tempting to use industry buzzwords, policy language, or technical detail, especially if you’re tackling complex issues like climate or social change. You can feel it demonstrates that you know your stuff!

But jargon is a barrier. If visitors can’t quickly understand who you help and how, they won’t stick around.

The fix

Keep it simple. Use clear, plain language and concrete examples. Imagine you’re explaining your work to a friend over coffee. Or to a six-year-old. What difference do you make? For whom? That’s the language that resonates.

An example

Take a look at the NessLabs site. Founder Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist but nowhere will you find scientific jargon on that page. With the first sentence she conveys exactly what the Ness Labs community can offer you.

3. Overlooking Trust Signals

In the purpose-driven world, trust is everything. People need to feel confident that you’re credible, transparent and capable of delivering on your mission. And yet I regularly see sites with no testimonials, no partner logos, no case studies, no assurance they care about my privacy and – way too often – not even a visible privacy policy.

The fix

Build trust into every layer of your site. Intersperse each page with real client or supporter stories with names and photos (just ask them nicely for permission; most are happy to help. Showcase partnerships, certifications, or awards. Make your data and privacy practices visible. Even simple things like a green hosting certificate or a CO2 emissions badge matter more than you think.

4. Neglecting Website Health and Performance

This is what I do every single day so I have to feature it! Here’s the painful truth in short: your mission won’t land if your website is slow, broken, or unreliable. Visitors won’t wait ten seconds for a page to load or wrestle with a form that doesn’t submit.

Scary staistic time

• A 2-second delay in website loading can reduce conversions by up to 30–40% on average. The effect is particularly pronounced on mobile devices, where 53% of users abandon a page if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
• Google found that when load time increases from 1 to 5 seconds, the probability of a visitor bouncing jumps by 90%!
• Portent (2023) found that conversion rates drop by about 50% when load time goes from 1 second to 2 seconds.

I’ve seen organizations lose donations, inquiries and sales simply because their sites weren’t maintained. Out-of-date plugins, broken links, uncompressed images and missing mobile optimisation are common culprits.

When your mission is fighting climate change, running an energy-inefficient, carbon-heavy website on servers run by a greedy corporation sends very mixed signals. Trust me: more and more people care about these things.

The fix

Treat your website like the living system it is. Keep WordPress, themes, and plugins updated. Run and test regular backups. Optimise your images. Check site speed and mobile responsiveness. And if you don’t have the time or expertise to do it yourself, partner with someone who does – because the cost of neglect is always higher.