Free Web Page Designing

Why to Conduct Free Web Page Designing

Web developers who create web pages full-time often have very little overhead. When tax time comes around, these businesses often need to be fairly creative to come up with fair deductions to reduce their tax burden. One of the most significant ways a web design business can do this is by offering free web page design work to non-profit organizations. All such work for a non-profit is tax-deductible, and the value of the work is calculated based on how much the project would cost for any other client. This is an excellent situation for everyone, because the non-profit receives a free high-quality web page to conduct their public service, and the design company receives a small savings on taxes in return for their efforts.

Additionally, businesses aren't the only ones who can donate their services to a non-profit. Individuals can also take care of free web page designing for a non-profit, and they are also eligible for the tax deduction. Whether you run a non-profit, or you are someone who is helping a non-profit in establishing an Internet presence, there are many ways you can help. The following methods are the most efficient ways you can help a struggling non-profit establish a high-quality web page.

Create a Simple Template-Based Website

One approach is the create a web page for the non-profit yourself. If you are even slightly web savvy, this isn't as difficult a task as you would expect. Most organizations only require a few pages to reflect who they are, what they do, and to provide their location and contact information to the public. Even if some dynamic scripting is needed, such as processing forms or displaying dynamic calendars, you can still do it yourself using free widgets and website applications available for free.

The fastest way to generate a free web page for any organization is by using a free template. Stick to CSS templates because it is very simple to modify the style once you understand how the style .css file is formatted. Or you can simply use the free template as it is, and only add content. As far as the non-profit is concerned, your web page will appear clean, professional, and well-made. Search through Premade Web Templates and pick the one that would work best with the content you plan to have on the site, download and unzip the file, and start modifying the .html and .css files to suit your particular needs.

You will also need to find either free web space for the organization, or donate some of your own hosting space if you have any available. Remember that you'll need to register the domain, and point it toward wherever the website you've created is parked. Keep track of all of your hours, so that when tax time comes, you will have a reasonable estimate for the hours your spent working on the site, and what you tax deduction should be.

Professional Hosting

Another option for non-profits to obtain free web design services is from professional hosts who donate a percentage of their time to help non-profits establish a website. The following organizations are a few examples.

• HelpNonProfits.org is a project in Portland, OR that works to help non-profit organizations obtain a free website. They provide a website that can be easily updated using open source content management systems (CMS).
• Design501 is a website design and development company, and they offer 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, schools, and even youth groups, a web site that is developed and designed absolutely free of charge. The one requirement is that the non-profit must sign up for hosting service (at a discounted price) with Design501.
• Consultwebs is also a professional web design company that "periodically" donates free web design and hosting to organizations. The company chooses a lucky organization every six months.
• Traverse Global Communications, a company based in Traverse City, MI, provides free non profit web hosting in the form of a preconfigured and easily maintained website. Traverse provides one full year of free domain name registration and free web hosting service, and additional years of service are earned by referring customers to Traverse.
• Final Host also offers free web page design, but the non-profit must sign up for a hosting account at a 10% discount. Services provided for free includes 1 to 6 designed page, free web graphics, navigation bar and free layout, free forms, and free website statistics. They offer two months of assistance and updates for free.

Finding Help

Running a charity or non-profit is difficult and time-consuming enough without having to worry about designing and hosting a web page. This is why so many organizations go without a website for so long. On the other hand, calling any one of these national companies, or calling a local website design firm and asking about any available non-profit programs will only take a few moments. These companies will do everything for you, and you can rest assured that the website they establish will help to get the work, the goals, and the message of your organization out into the world.