Why I chose to work exclusively with NGOs
I'm Eric Phung. After building over 100 websites across multiple sectors, I made a deliberate decision to focus exclusively on non-profits—because that's where websites consistently fail in ways nobody's addressing.
The problem I solve
After seven years and over 100 website projects across multiple sectors, I noticed a pattern.
Corporate websites fail quietly. Nobody notices. A slow page, a confusing navigation—it's annoying, but rarely consequential.
NGO websites fail loudly. Donors lose confidence. Boards ask uncomfortable questions. Funders scrutinise. Beneficiaries can't access the help they need. A poorly built website for a non-profit doesn't just underperform—it undermines the organisation's credibility and mission.
And yet, most website consultants treat NGO projects exactly like corporate ones. Optimise for conversion. Make it look modern. Add a donation button. Ship it.
This misses everything that makes NGO websites fundamentally different.
The breakthrough for me came when I stopped treating these projects as "smaller corporate websites" and started treating them as institutional infrastructure. That shift changed how I approached discovery, design, and delivery—and it changed the outcomes for every non-profit I've worked with since.
That's why I made the decision to focus exclusively here. Not because I had no other options, but because this is where proper website thinking matters most—and where it's most often missing.
How I think about websites
Websites aren't marketing surfaces.
They're institutional infrastructure.
When I rebuild a website for a non-profit, I'm not just creating something that looks professional. I'm creating a system capable of:
- Supporting governance and accountability mechanisms
- Handling increased scrutiny as visibility grows
- Surviving organisational transitions without becoming a liability
- Serving multiple stakeholder types simultaneously
- Enabling operational independence for small teams
- Mitigating institutional risk during campaigns, crises, and due diligence
This requires understanding things most website consultants never ask about:
- How organisational decisions actually get made
- Where credibility is most fragile
- What risks keep leadership nervous
- How content governance breaks down in practice
- Why stakeholder confusion compounds over time
I start with these questions before touching design. Always.
My background
I've built websites professionally for seven years, working across sectors including e-commerce, professional services, and home services before focusing exclusively on non-profits. That sector specialisation is deliberate and recent—driven by recognising that NGO websites consistently fail in ways standard web consultancy doesn't address.
I work as an independent consultant rather than an agency, because this work requires judgment, continuity, and direct attention that agencies structurally cannot provide. Every Blueprint Audit and every implementation decision receives that directly.
Based in Manchester, UK. Working with organisations across Europe and internationally.
My approach
What I believe:
- Strategy must precede design—always
- Websites should reduce institutional risk, not create it
- NGO staff should control their website infrastructure
- Institutional credibility matters more than marketing conversion
- Transparency in process and pricing builds better partnerships
- Saying "no" to misaligned projects protects both parties
What I don't do:
- Take projects outside my capacity (selective about concurrent load)
- Build on platforms I can't support long-term
- Compete on price (I'm not the cheapest—I'm the most thorough)
- Overpromise to close deals
- Skip diagnosis to speed up timelines — the Blueprint Audit exists because shortcuts produce expensive failures
Who I work best with
Ideal clients:
- NGOs experiencing or expecting increased scrutiny
- Leadership understanding websites as infrastructure, not marketing
- Teams willing to invest in diagnostic clarity before implementation
- Communications professionals frustrated by current constraints
- Organisations operating at professional level regardless of size
Not a good fit:
- Organisations needing websites in 6 weeks
- Groups seeking lowest-cost provider
- Teams wanting "modern design" without strategic foundation
- Anyone unwilling to start with Blueprint Audit
I'd rather redirect you to better-suited alternatives than take on misaligned work.
1 / 5
What my clients say:
"Working with Eric on the re-platforming of our site has been an absolute joy. He has taken what we thought would be a complex process and made it easy, seamless and professional. Even when our brief was to 'lift and shift' our site to Webflow, Eric found ways to enhance our donor experience and improve our SEO, all within budget. Our site has already had an uplift in organic traffic and our team is delighted with what we can offer our donors going forward."
"Eric from Socialectric isn’t just a web designer; he’s a visionary partner who instantly became my new best friend! He has an incredible knack for grasping your vision and translating it into something tangible and spectacular. From day one, the process was seamless, organized, and utterly professional. My website not only looks fantastic, but it also perfectly reflects our mission, thanks to his meticulous attention to detail and proactive communication. No follow-ups needed; Eric kept me in the loop every step of the way. He's already lined up for three more projects because, frankly, I can't imagine working with anyone else. Eric embodies professionalism, creativity, effective communication, and reasonable pricing. Truly lucky to have Socialectric on our side!"
