"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

—Voltaire

Todd Baker's excellent, free primer on how nonprofits should approach going online begins with Voltaire's 250-year old observation, which translated means "The more things change, the more they stay the same." That theme is central to Baker's twin theses: 1) the Internet is not a "new world" but rather a potentially valuable additional tool for nonprofits in the "real" world; and 2) a nonprofit's online presence should be a component of an overall marketing plan, not a technological island divorced from the rest of the organization's strategy.

The book itself is an illustration of Voltaire's observation, since it's a variety of e-book available for free download in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format from a Grizzard Web site named, appropriately, nonprofitwebsites.com (see "branding strategy," below). Because most of us are still accustomed to reading longer texts offline, the only drawback to the e-book format is the issue of downloading and then (probably) printing and binding/stapling a ninety-page book. However, the book reads just fine on a computer monitor, and those who choose to create a hard copy can do so relatively quickly.

Written in a very accessible style, the book's six chapters address involvement strategy, brand strategy, marketing strategy, content strategy, design strategy, and technology philosophy, and the author sprinkles in his own "Baker's Dozen" of hints, helps, and checklists throughout.

At one point in the movie City Slickers, Curly, the character played by Jack Palance, holds up his index finger and, in a gravely voice, says that the secret to life is "this one thing." A nonprofit establishing an online presence should keep it simple and focus on the one thing they wish to associate with their online presence. For organizations with a complex mission, Baker makes a good case for establishing a Web site around your organization's key activities, with linkages to a central and related sites. In other words, resist the temptation to dilute your organization's online message by pulling your visitors in too many directions at once.

The author's recommendations about design are also basic and sound. Simplicity and accessibility (user-friendliness) should be your watchwords. When art collides with functionality, functionality wins. People spend amazingly little time at a Web site before they make a decision whether to stay or never visit again. Consider your audience, provide for ease of navigation and unity of content (words and pictures), and you're far more likely to have a site to which people will return.

A free e-book put out by an author and company in the business of, among other things, helping nonprofits use the Internet effectively might be seen as somewhat self-serving. However, Nonprofit Websites barely mentions Grizzard and their services, and people who view themselves as non-technical will find it to be especially useful. In summary, Nonprofit Websites is a valuable reference guide for anyone designing an online presence, and I recommend it highly.