A conceptual model with empirical verification for constructing non-profit organization Web sites

Abstract

A module-based Web site design model containing various functions was proposed with corresponding guidelines and suggestions, for non-profit organizations (NPOs) to construct, maintain, and re-design their Web sites. By adopting this model, NPOs will be able to clearly re-examine their Web site operations and select more suitable information and mechanisms to provide on their Web sites. It was also suggested in our model to take advantage of standardized interfaces and mechanisms (such as open standards and reusable components) for achieving the goal of efficiently and effectively constructing and operating NPO Web sites. In addition, for the purpose of verification, and under an unexpected time constrain, we quickly developed a Web site prototype fully based on our model, and submitted it to a charity-related contest. During a relatively short five-day period, we were able to succeed with a "second highest votes" ranked result, which surprisingly showed us the potentials and feasibility of this model. This model could also be applied to other NPOs as a valuable reference for their management and e-commerce project teams to successfully design and implement their e-commerce initiatives.