Prepared by Àṣẹ Haus
Digital Infrastructure & Brand Audit
A look at where your digital presence currently stands — what's working, what needs attention, and where to focus next.
Digital Infrastructure & Brand Audit
A look at where your digital presence currently stands — what's working, what needs attention, and where to focus next.
01 — Where You Actually Stand
Masjid Muhammad Newark is not starting from scratch. I've worked with masjids and Islamic nonprofits that are still in the early stages of building history, community trust, consistent programming, and a strong congregation. MMN already has that foundation. From the research I've done, I'm genuinely proud of the work your masjid has done and the legacy it continues to carry.
The goal should now be to bring that legacy forward: strengthen the systems, modernize the digital presence, and make sure the work happening today can be sustained, supported, and carried by the next generation.
With over 4,100 Instagram followers, more than 1,100 posts, active Jumu'ah, Clara Mohammed Weekend School, social services, food distribution, and an ongoing building revival project, your organization is already on the right track. This report is meant to give you a clear picture of where MMN currently stands digitally, where the gaps are, and what practical steps your team can take to move forward with more structure, confidence, and self-sufficiency.
02 — Core Issues Identified
These observations are not a judgment of the people doing the work. They simply point to system and structure gaps that can be improved.
A first-time visitor cannot quickly find Jumu'ah time, leadership, how to give, or how to get involved. The information exists but it is very poorly scattered across pages and mixed with images, announcements, and repeated text.
Several links throughout the site — including Contact and Donate — lead to 404 error pages. Broken links damage trust with new visitors and donors. It also signals to search engines that the site is poorly maintained.
Much of the website has repeated text from 2023–2024 copied multiple times. This makes the site feel very much unmaintained.
The donation text on the homepage is white on a light background, which makes it nearly impossible to read. The current setup also lacks giving categories, impact language, and campaign pages. Zeffy has two campaign types set up, which is a good start, but the overall system needs more structure and storytelling.
For a 501(c)(3) with a public website and an active community, a Gmail address weakens institutional credibility. Branded email is a small change with a real trust impact.
Social media is carrying the full weight of announcements. But posts get missed, algorithms hide content, and platforms change. An email list is the one channel you actually own entirely.
Different flyers, different fonts, different color usage — each made by whoever is available that week. It works in the moment, but creates a scattered visual identity that does not reflect the organization's true strength.
Most announcements are posted as images. Search engines cannot read flyers. If someone searches "Jumu'ah Newark NJ" or "Islamic classes Newark," the masjid may not appear — even though you offer exactly what they need.
There are almost certainly people in and around your community who want to help but do not know how to plug in. A simple intake form with department categories can change that with zero budget.
03 — Wix → WordPress
After auditing the site, I see that your current website is built on Wix — you can see this from the wixstatic.com image CDN used throughout the site. Wix is a fine tool for getting started quickly, and the team that built it deserves credit for getting something online. But for a masjid with the programs, community depth, and long-term ambitions of Masjid Muhammad Newark, Wix's limitations will keep getting in the way.
Wix locks you into its ecosystem. You cannot fully own your data, form integrations are limited, and migrating later becomes harder the longer you wait. WordPress — which powers over 40% of the entire web — is the right long-term foundation for what you are trying to build.
A solid WordPress hosting plan runs $5–$15/month (SiteGround, WP Engine, and Kinsta are all reliable). For a nonprofit, that is very manageable — and dramatically cheaper than Wix's plans once you factor in plugin and app costs.
If your team wants to build it yourselves: WordPress has thousands of free themes that are clean, fast, and highly customizable without requiring a developer. There are also very affordable Islamic-style templates for masjids and nonprofits that give you a solid structure to build from.
A real option worth considering: There are talented young graphic design and web development students — often within your own community — who would do excellent work building a custom site and could genuinely use the income and portfolio piece. Allocating a portion of donation funds toward this kind of internal community investment is something we encourage masjids to take seriously.
Here is a sample of what is realistic with the right WordPress plugins — no fully custom development needed:
04 — Website Structure
Your homepage is the front door. Right now it has every room in the house visible at once. It needs one clear path — different entry points for different visitors.
Several links throughout the site lead to 404 error pages — including the Contact and Donate pages. This is one of the most damaging issues on the current site. A visitor who clicks Donate and hits a 404 will not come back. A neighbor looking for contact information who lands on an error page will assume no one is available.
Islamic Studies, Clara Mohammed Weekend School, Social Services & Health, Food Distribution, and the Building Renovation Project — each one needs its own dedicated page. Every program page should answer: What is this? Who is it for? When and where? Who leads it? How do I show up? How can I volunteer or donate?
One of the highest-impact pages a masjid can have — specifically for first-time visitors, new Muslims, and families. Cover: what to expect at Jumu'ah, how to dress, parking, who to speak to, programs for new Muslims, and how to stay connected. Warm and human — not formal documentation. This one page can meaningfully reduce first-timer anxiety and convert curious visitors into community members.
Google reads text, not images. Every major page should include natural phrases that match what people actually search:
You already have a Google Business Profile. Keep it fully updated — Jumu'ah time, photos, current hours, website link. Post updates there regularly. It directly affects local search and can drive real walk-in visits from people who did not know you existed.
05 — Donations & Fundraising
You are already using Zeffy, which is a really great tool. Zeffy charges zero platform fees for nonprofits, which means every dollar a donor gives reaches the masjid. That matters. You have two giving campaigns already set up on Zeffy, which is a solid start. What is missing is the structure and storytelling around them.
Zeffy also offers API access at zeffy.com/integration/api. If you bring in a developer to build a custom website, they can connect Zeffy directly — displaying campaign totals, embedding donation forms, syncing donor records, and triggering thank-you workflows, all without paying for an additional tool or leaving your platform.
People give more — and more consistently — when they understand exactly what they are giving to. "Donate" is a button. "Help us feed 200 Newark families this Sunday" is a reason.
Near every donation button, add concrete impact statements. Adjust amounts to reflect your real program costs:
Add a recurring donation option. Even $10/month from 50 people is $500/month in predictable income — and predictable income changes how you can plan, hire, and invest in programs.
Each significant fundraising need should have its own page — not just a link. A campaign page tells a story: what you are raising for and why it matters, a specific dollar goal, photos, a donation button, and a shareable link you can post on Instagram and from the minbar. Start with: Ramadan Iftar Sponsorship, Building Renovation, Food Distribution.
06 — Email & Communications
Social media is borrowed land. The algorithm decides who sees your posts. Platforms change their rules, lose users, or disappear. An email list is yours. If you have 500 subscribers, you can reach 500 people directly — no algorithm, no boosting, no uncertainty.
There is currently no community email newsletter. This is the single highest-leverage communication improvement available, and it costs almost nothing to start.
With branded email through Google Workspace for Nonprofits — free for verified 501(c)(3) organizations. You keep the familiar Gmail interface. You just send from a real address. Recommended setup:
If you move to WordPress: FluentCRM (~$60/year) lives inside your dashboard. Handles email lists, automation, segmentation, and newsletters — no external platform needed. This is what we recommend.
If you prefer an external tool: MailerLite offers a 30% nonprofit discount. Clean, easy, and their free tier covers up to 1,000 subscribers.
Already have a list? Import it now and send your first newsletter. Even a short one. No list yet? Now is exactly the right time to start collecting. Add a signup form to your website, mention it from the minbar, and include it on every event registration form going forward.
A good weekly or biweekly community email: Jumu'ah khateeb, 2–3 upcoming events, class reminders, one current donation need, one volunteer opportunity. Short, consistent, and human beats long and overwhelming every time.
SMS is invaluable for a masjid — particularly for janazah announcements, event reminders, Ramadan updates, weather closures, and urgent community needs. Many elders and community members respond to texts faster than email.
Free starting point: WhatsApp broadcast lists. Create separate lists by segment — general announcements, youth parents, volunteers, sisters, brothers. Zero cost, no setup required.
When you are ready to scale: Twilio's Impact Access Program offers nonprofit rates specifically for community organizations. Twilio powers SMS at scale and can integrate directly with WordPress and your CRM for automated reminders, department-specific alerts, and janazah notifications.
08 — Building a Volunteer Network
I sat on the board of my local masjid before relocating — and I know firsthand that recruiting volunteers and stretching limited funding is genuinely hard work. The willingness is almost always there in the community. What is missing is a clear, easy path to plug in. Once you build that path, people show up.
The first step is a single, simple volunteer interest form: name, contact, availability, skills, preferred departments. Link it from your homepage, mention it from the minbar, post it on Instagram, include it in every email newsletter. Google Forms handles this today at zero cost.
Organizing volunteers into departments makes coordination dramatically easier. Each department has one coordinator who is the point of contact — and that structure means you are not managing 50 individual conversations every time you need help with an event.
If the masjid's fundraising campaigns are not moving the needle the way you need them to, there is a resource worth knowing: Taproot Foundation connects nonprofits with skilled pro bono volunteers — marketers, designers, strategists, technologists — who donate their professional expertise to organizations doing meaningful community work. If you are missing that strategic capacity, Taproot is a real option.
The biggest reason volunteers stop showing up is not that they lost interest. It is that they stopped hearing from you. A simple monthly volunteer update — via email or WhatsApp — with upcoming opportunities, a thank-you for past help, and clear next steps keeps your base warm and active.
Acknowledge people by name when you can. A quick shout-out in the Jumu'ah khutbah or on Instagram goes a long way. And when someone volunteers once, follow up within 48 hours with a thank-you and an ask about what else they might want to do. That follow-up is often what converts a one-time helper into a regular part of the team.
09 — Free & Low-Cost Tools
Being a verified 501(c)(3) opens doors to tools that would cost thousands of dollars for a regular business. Here is what to activate — and a note on each.
Branded email, Drive, Calendar, Meet, and Forms for your whole team — up to 2,000 accounts. Apply at google.com/nonprofits.
Free for nonprofits$10,000/month in free Google search advertising. Use it to drive traffic to Jumu'ah info, donation pages, and program registration — after the site is cleaned up.
Free — $10k/monthFull Canva Pro — brand kits, premium templates, team collaboration, 100GB storage. Apply at canva.com/canva-for-nonprofits.
Free for nonprofitsZero platform fees for nonprofit donations and event ticketing. Their API lets developers embed forms and sync donor data directly into your website.
Always freeA WordPress plugin for email marketing, list management, segmentation, and automation. Replaces MailChimp at a fraction of the cost.
~$60/year (WordPress)Clean, easy email newsletter platform. Free up to 1,000 subscribers. They offer a 30% nonprofit discount for eligible organizations.
30% nonprofit discountNonprofit rates for SMS infrastructure — janazah alerts, event reminders, urgent community notifications. See twilio.org for eligibility.
Nonprofit ratesA nonprofit resource hub that connects eligible organizations with deeply discounted software from Microsoft, Adobe, Zoom, Intuit, and hundreds of others. Free to join and browse.
Free to joinConnects nonprofits with skilled pro bono professionals — marketers, designers, strategists, developers. Ideal when fundraising or communications need strategic capacity. taprootfoundation.org
FreeEnhanced features for Jumu'ah livestreams and replays, including donation fundraising cards directly on videos and improved channel analytics.
Free for nonprofitsFree segmented announcement channel for urgent alerts — janazah, event reminders, closures. Create lists by segment. Zero cost, no setup, works today.
Always freeFree forms for volunteer intake, event RSVPs, program registration, and community surveys. Connects directly to Sheets for easy tracking — no CRM needed to start.
Always free10 — Act Now
Eid Al-Adha falls at the end of May — and that is a real, near-term deadline worth building toward. Eid is one of the highest-traffic moments of the year for a masjid: new visitors, returning community members, increased giving, and heightened community energy. It is exactly the right moment to show up with something stronger than what existed before.
If you start now — on the website cleanup, broken link fixes, the email system, the donation categories, social media brand consistency, and the volunteer pipeline — you can have meaningful improvements in place before Eid. A cleaner website, a first email newsletter, and a fresh giving campaign page can all happen in this window with the right focus.
You do not need everything to be perfect to launch. A cleaner homepage, working links, one email newsletter, and consistent branding on social media is already a meaningful step. Do not wait for the complete picture before you start moving.
Contact and Donate pages that return errors are actively costing you donors and visitors. This is the most urgent fix on the site — and it can be done in a few hours.
White text on a light background is unreadable and discourages giving. Change the text to a dark color or give the donation section a proper dark background. This is a ten-minute fix with significant impact.
Both take a few days to approve. Apply now so you have access well before Eid.
Clear goal, short story, shareable link. Promote it on Instagram and mention it from the minbar during Jumu'ah in the weeks leading up to Eid.
Even a basic one. Eid programming, a giving campaign, a volunteer call. You already have people who want to hear from you — start reaching them directly.
Updated bio, link-in-bio connecting to Jumu'ah info, donations, and volunteer form. Eid is when new people visit your profile — make sure it represents the masjid well.
11 — Priority Action Plan
Don't try to fix everything at once. This is a phased approach designed to build momentum without overwhelming your team.
Quick wins — most can be done this weekend or this week, for free.
Bigger improvements that build on the quick wins — take a few weeks to a month.
Longer-term infrastructure once the foundations are solid.
12 — Brand Identity
When people encounter Masjid Muhammad Newark — online or in person — they should feel something immediately. History. Strength. Faith. Community. The brand identity proposed here is not decorative. It is the visual language of everything this institution represents: the architecture of 253 South Orange Avenue, the legacy of Imam W.D. Mohammed, and the future being actively built right now.
A well-built brand is also deeply practical. It lives on a website, yes — but it also lives on a letterhead, a donation receipt, a fundraising banner, a Ramadan mailer, a youth program t-shirt, a hoodie sold at the Eid bazaar, a grant application cover page. A low-resolution logo cannot do any of that. A professional logo suite that is built in vector formats can live anywhere the masjid goes, at any size, forever. That distinction matters more than most people realize until they need it.
Three variations. One cohesive system. Designed to travel anywhere the masjid goes.
Website header, letterheads, grant applications, print materials, banners, signage
Small spaces, embroidery, lapel pins, stickers, secondary brand mark
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube profiles, browser tab — everywhere you show up online
When we hand off a brand, you receive files that can go anywhere — on screen, in print, and on merchandise — forever.
A logo that only exists in low resolution cannot go on merchandise, a banner, a sweatshirt, or a grant application. Professional vector files — SVG, AI, EPS — are what make a brand truly portable. They are what separate an institution from a flyer someone made in Canva the night before the event.
13 — How Àṣẹ Haus Can Help
Everything in this report is guidance your team can act on starting right now regardless of your organizaton's current budget. A few volunteers with a few focused weekends can execute most of the tasks presented in this report.
However, I know that many masjid leadership teams are stretched far too thin. The digital infrastructure keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list because there are only so many hours and only so much energy. That is where I would love to be given the opportunity to step in, if the timing is right for your organization. I've listed some of the ways I can help assist Masjid Muhammad Newark with further building out their digital systems:
Website, Branding, CRM, Donations, Events, Membership, Groups, E-Commerce & Operational Systems. Every piece of this is designed to give the masjid a complete digital ecosystem — not just a website.
Full custom WordPress site — mobile-first, brand-matched, every page built for clarity, trust, and action. Homepage through every program page.
Logo suite, brand guidelines, color and type system, favicon, social assets, Canva kit — SVG, PNG, EPS, and AI files that live anywhere the masjid goes.
FluentCRM setup, list import, contact segmentation, newsletter and welcome automation, branded email templates — running inside WordPress.
Custom donation pages, giving categories, recurring setup, Zeffy API integration, campaign pages, automated receipts and donor follow-up emails.
Member registration, login area, dashboard, profile pages, optional tiers and dues, members-only content, family and student membership options.
Sisters' Circle, youth group, volunteers, new Muslim support, fundraising committee — public or private groups with profiles, roles, and moderation.
Event calendar, individual event pages, free and paid ticket flows, attendee lists, confirmation emails, CRM integration.
Books, Islamic materials, masjid merchandise, digital downloads, vendor booth purchases, sponsorship packages — WooCommerce with Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Rental inquiry forms, availability requests, deposit and payment setup, admin approval workflow, rental agreement, calendar coordination, SMS reminders.
Quran classes, Arabic, youth halaqahs, new Muslim classes, marriage workshops, summer camps — with capacity limits, waitlists, roster export, and parent fields.
Interest form with roles and availability, CRM tagging, automated confirmation, follow-up workflow, volunteer database, admin training.
Zakat assistance, marriage service requests, Shahada support, janazah assistance, sponsorship inquiry, media requests — all routed to the right person.
Sponsor inquiry and package display, vendor registration, payment collection, logo upload, recognition sections — for bazaars, banquets, and conferences.
Opt-in forms, audience segmentation, event and booking reminders, janazah alerts, emergency closures — with compliance guidance and full team training.
Page titles, meta descriptions, Google Analytics, Search Console, sitemap, local SEO, image optimization, and donation and event page visibility.
Basic security setup, automated backups, spam and login protection, SSL review, performance optimization, launch testing checklist.
Walkthroughs for every system, written and recorded instructions, admin role setup, post-launch support window — we do not build things and disappear.
❖ Rooted in Faith. Building Community. Serving Newark. ❖
07 — Social Media
Your Instagram is working. Make it work harder.
1,100+ posts and 4,100+ followers is a real, earned asset. The goal is not to post more — it is to post in a way that is visually consistent, clearly branded, and drives people to take real action: attend, give, volunteer, register, share.
Your social media profiles should immediately communicate who you are. Someone landing on your Instagram page for the first time should feel the brand before they read a single caption. Profile photo, bio, link in bio, highlights — all of it should feel intentional. Right now, the masjid's social presence deserves a more unified look that reflects the strength and dignity of the institution.
Every platform — Instagram, Facebook, YouTube — should use the same branded profile image. Immediate visual recognition, immediately signals that someone is paying attention.
Full Canva Pro for free. Once your brand colors and fonts are set in Canva's brand kit, anyone on your team can create on-brand graphics in minutes without guessing. Apply at canva.com/canva-for-nonprofits.
Jumu'ah announcement (reused every week — just update the khateeb name), event announcement, Ramadan/iftar update, fundraising campaign, volunteer call, program spotlight, educational quote. Once built, anyone can use them in five minutes.
Suggested: Jumu'ah, Donate, Programs, Weekend School, Ramadan, Food Drive, History, Youth, Volunteer. Each with a branded cover image. Highlights are the first thing a profile visitor sees after the bio — they should be clean and intentional.
A flyer post with no caption is a missed opportunity. Even 2–3 lines — who should come, what to expect, how to register — dramatically increases engagement. Every post should have at least one clear call to action.
Ramadan post → Ramadan page. Fundraising post → donation page. Event post → registration link. This is how social drives real action. Use a free Linktree or direct link-in-bio to manage multiple destinations.