How one charity transformed its online presence

But websites are not static – they require maintenance to ensure they are modern, accessible, and ultimately fit-for-purpose. It is this maintenance that generates trust with supporters, keeps them engaged, and charity services discoverable.  

It’s not always easy for charities to keep their website well-maintained. Without big budgets and in-house technical expertise, websites can be difficult to manage, creating accessibility barriers and turning supporters away. 

This was the experience of charity Fashion and Textile Children’s Trust (FTCT) – an organisation that supports the children of fashion and textile workers in the UK. As a small charity, they found their WordPress website was becoming increasingly challenging to manage and costly. Every update required support from external developers, the site was not optimised for mobile users, and donations were processed through third-party platforms, leading to less engagement between the charity and its supporters.  

Below, we explore how FTCT transformed its digital presence, revamped its website, and connects more families with support, with help from charity software providers Access. 

Find out more about Access 

How Fashion and Textile Children’s Trust revamped its website 

Managing a website is often, in bigger organisations, a full-time job. But for FTCT, a small charity with only six members of staff, time was particularly limited and the website needed more.  

“As the only comms person in the organisation, managing a WordPress site was really challenging,” explains Jill Haines, Marketing and Communications Manager at FTCT. “Every small change required outsourcing, which was expensive and time-consuming. We needed a solution that was simple, reliable, and would grow with us.”  

FTCT turned to Access Raise, an all-in-one fundraising platform that helps charities raise more money, awareness, and engagement for their cause.  With Access Raise, charities can manage their website, events, and engagement in one place, run appeals with built-in donation processing and automated Gift Aid, and create content and campaigns easily with AI-powered tools. 

Over time, with Access Raise, FTCT has been able to use its AI Page Creator to support structured, SEO-friendly content that drives traffic to its site. It has made use of SEO tools that provide meta tag suggestions and accessibility checks to make sure everyone is able to consume FTCT’s content on their own terms. The charity has also used insights provided by Copilot to find high-performing pages and areas of improvement, so the charity’s content is always hitting its mark.  
 

Haines describes the tools as a “game-changer” for her small team, allowing them to save time and build more confidence in their online content, knowing it is making an impact.  
 

How FTCT became more visible online 

A charity’s online presence is not just about getting the content right. It’s also about being visible – in the right place, at the right time, when someone is searching for a topic close to your cause.  

Google Ad Grants are a great way to get free advertising at the top of search results relevant to your charity, as FTCT discovered during its work with Access. Google is the second biggest referral channel to FTCT for families seeking help, so being able to run targeted ad campaigns easily was vital – and, again, incredibly challenging for a team of six.   

With Access’ managed Google Ads service, Access takes the reins on behalf of FTCT, running targeted ad campaigns that drive enquiries directly to the charity. Experts structure campaigns, refresh ads to make sure they’re effective, and offer advice when the advertising landscape changes.  

Google Ad Grants continues to deliver high levels of traffic to FTCT’s website, which now supports more than 40,000 visitors every year. Families can donate directly on the website, which research shows improves brand recall later, and the team can save lots of time previously spent on laborious Gift Aid processes and website maintenance.  

“Our website is everything to us,” says Haines. “We don’t have a centre for families to visit, so it is our charity. Access gives us the confidence that it’s always up to date, secure, and effective. With Ad Grants on top, it’s the perfect partnership.” 

Discover the full Access Charity Suite 

Charities looking to improve their online presence, in an ever-evolving digital world that competes for attention, can discover all of the services mentioned above and more in the Access Charity Suite. 

The Access Charity Suite brings together all Access’ digital tools under a single umbrella, so charities can manage fundraising, volunteering, advertising, and marketing all in one place, with one login, and one supplier to reach out to for support.  

You can find out more about the tools included in the Access Charity Suite, and how they work with one another, here.  

Find out more about Access Charity Suite