Navigating Website Deprecation: A Guide for Nonprofits

Imagine this: It's the morning of your nonprofit's biggest fundraising campaign of the year. Your coffee isn’t even cool when you discover your donation page has transformed into a blank white screen. You've been dreading this day ever since you learned your website could only run on an old version of PHP — a version so old that even your hosting provider warned they'd be ending support for it this quarter. The developer who built your custom donation system years ago had mentioned something about "modernizing the codebase," but with limited resources and a packed calendar of programs to run, it seemed like a problem for another day. Their journey from initial interest to meaningful action flows naturally, guided by clear messaging and purposeful design. This is the transformative power of an effective landing page — it creates a direct bridge between passionate supporters and your mission.

Now that day has arrived. Chrome's latest security update refuses to process payments through your ancient configuration. Firefox simply shows a security warning instead of your donation form. Your usual tech person is unreachable and when you try to load your site's admin panel, you're greeted with a message that might as well be written in ancient Sanskrit. Meanwhile, your executive director is calling, your board is emailing, and somewhere in the distance, you swear you can hear the sound of potential donations evaporating into the digital void.

The truly frustrating part? The signs were there all along. The security audit from last year flagged your legacy systems as "approaching end-of-life." The hosting provider's monthly newsletters about modernizing technology stacks. Even your payment processor's announcement about discontinuing support for older security protocols. These weren't just routine notifications — they were your website's way of telling you that the digital world was moving forward while your technology stayed frozen in time.

This is a dramatic scenario, but it illustrates a critical challenge facing nonprofits today: the inevitable obsolescence of digital technologies. It's not just about keeping software updated — it's about navigating a world where the very foundations of the internet evolve, leaving older technologies behind. When a programming language version or browser security standard reaches end-of-life, no amount of simple updates can bridge the gap. Instead, organizations face the more complex challenge of bringing their entire tech stack up to date. 

Understanding the Lifecycle of Digital Tools

Think of your website as a living ecosystem rather than a static structure. Just as an ecosystem depends on various species working together, your website relies on multiple interconnected pieces of software. Each piece — whether it's your content management system, themes, plugins, or custom features — has its own lifecycle.

WordPress themes built around a specific design typically receive active support for 2-3 years, similar to how a smartphone manufacturer provides updates for their devices. Plugins might have a longer lifespan of around 5 years, but eventually, every piece of technology reaches a point where it can no longer keep up with evolving standards and security requirements. This natural progression happens because the internet itself is constantly evolving, with new security standards, performance requirements, and user expectations emerging regularly.

Let's examine a real-world example: A local food bank built its website using a donation management plugin in 2019. The plugin worked perfectly for several years, processing thousands of donations. However, by 2024, the original plugin developer had moved on to other projects. Now, when a new security vulnerability is discovered in the underlying payment processing system, there's no one to create and release the necessary security patches. This situation forces the food bank to either continue using vulnerable software or quickly find and implement a replacement—neither of which is an ideal option during their busy season.

What breaks?

A website touches many areas that receive updates: browsers, WordPress core, server code, plugins, CMS platforms, and more. It only takes one piece “stuck in time” to start a cascading issue. The most common form of deprecation for nonprofits is WordPress themes. Organizations will buy a theme to help save time and money on designing their website — these themes have special custom designs and are often bundled with a page builder. When these themes stop receiving updates, there is no way to update the page builder as you don’t have an individual license, and the customizations tied into the theme that was once a time-saving measure, are now a liability as any change of the theme requires a site redesign. 

The True Impact of Deprecation: More Than Technical

Understanding the full scope of deprecation requires looking beyond just the technical aspects. When digital tools reach end-of-life, the impact ripples throughout an organization in ways that might not be immediately obvious.

Consider the financial implications. The immediate costs of dealing with deprecation often include emergency fixes ($1000-5,000), security patches ($200-1,000 per incident), and data migration services ($1,000-5,000). However, these visible costs are just the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface lurk hidden costs that can be far more significant: lost donations during system downtime, staff hours spent on workarounds, and the potential fallout from security breaches that could exceed $10,000 in recovery costs.

Prevention, while requiring investment, typically costs significantly less than emergency responses. Annual maintenance contracts ranging from $5,000-10,000 annually might seem expensive, but they're a fraction of what organizations might spend dealing with crisis situations. Think of it like maintaining a car—regular oil changes and tire rotations cost far less than replacing a blown engine.

The Custom Code Conundrum: When Good Intentions Meet Reality

Custom code represents a particularly challenging aspect of website deprecation, and its impact deserves special attention. To better understand this, let's explore some real-world scenarios that illustrate the common pitfalls you might face.

1. A program that relied on a volunteer developer exemplifies a common situation in the nonprofit sector. Their custom volunteer matching system worked perfectly when first implemented, but as web standards evolved and WordPress updated, the system became increasingly unstable. When the developer departs, their knowledge of how and why things were built a certain way can go with them. Even well-intentioned solutions can become liabilities without proper planning for long-term maintenance.
   
   
2. Similarly, a small “does what we need it to now” scotch-tape solution can become a major issue over time. What began as a basic event registration tracker might evolve into a critical system that your organization relies upon daily. When updates become necessary, the cost of modifications may exceed the available budget because the original development didn't account for future changes.
   
   
3. A hypothetical inventory management system represents perhaps the most challenging scenario: the accumulation of technical debt through multiple developers. Each developer added their own solutions without proper documentation, creating a system that became increasingly difficult to maintain or modify. This situation illustrates why documentation and consistent development practices are crucial for long-term sustainability.

Let’s Talk Prevention

Understanding these challenges allows us to develop effective strategies for preventing deprecation-related crises. The key lies in treating your website as a long-term investment rather than a one-time project.

Prevention starts with choosing the right foundation for your digital presence. When selecting tools and technologies, consider not just their current functionality but their long-term viability. Evaluate the track record of developers or companies maintaining the tools, the size and activity of their user community, and their commitment to regular updates and security patches.

Documentation plays a crucial role in prevention. Every custom feature, plugin, or theme should have clear documentation explaining not just how it works, but why certain decisions were made during development. This information becomes invaluable when updates or modifications become necessary, especially if the original developers are no longer available.

Regular audits serve as your early warning system. By systematically reviewing your website's components—themes, plugins, custom code, and integrations — you can identify potential issues before they become critical problems. These audits should examine not just the technical aspects but also the business impact of each component, helping you prioritize updates and replacements.

Moving Forward

As we look toward the future, website deprecation will remain a constant challenge for nonprofits. However, by understanding its nature, planning for it proactively, and implementing proper maintenance procedures, organizations can minimize its impact on their operations.

The key is to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach. This means building deprecation planning into your organization's technical strategy from the beginning, allocating appropriate resources for maintenance and updates, and maintaining relationships with technical partners who understand your mission and challenges.

Looking for expert guidance in navigating these technical challenges? Our team specializes in helping nonprofits build and maintain sustainable digital tools. We understand the unique challenges nonprofits face and are committed to creating solutions that last.

We are here to help you!

Are you ready to put these website tips into action? Whether you’re looking to optimize your current website, launch a new one, or create content that drives results, Tapp Network is here to help you achieve your goals. As a digital marketing agency specializing in working with nonprofits, we understand the unique challenges and opportunities that the nonprofit sector faces.

Schedule a consultation with us today and take the first step towards transforming your digital presence.