Summer is the time to take a hard look at your website. There are so many aspects of web giving to ponder. One of the most crucial was just the topic of a blog on the Agitator.
How can you design a Donate webpage that inspires more people to take action?
It seems that we have quite a bit of opportunity to improve response. As the Agitator notes, nonprofit websites typically convert their visitors at the rate of 3-5% to any kind of interaction, let alone donating.
So, what should a Donate page look like? Here’s my list:
Lots of clean space. This is not the time for lots of photos or success stories. Keep it simple and easy to follow the steps to giving.
Focused on giving only. Do not put other calls to action on your Donate page. Don’t include a petition to sign, a form for volunteering, or even “other ways to give”. People go to your Donate page to give. Let them do it!
Easy to actually donate. There should not be more than one click necessary to donate. The more clicks between the Donate page and the actual gift, the smaller the chance the transaction will be completed.
Limited “sell” language. You do not need to include a lot of sales text on your donate page. Yes, you want to have the donor affirm their intention, but this is not the time to re-state your annual report!
Look and feel like the rest of the website. Right?
Here’s one that was nominated in the Agitator as a winner from Care:
https://my.care.org/site/Donation
How does your website stack up?
p.s. I know that many of our readers use Giving First to process web gifts. This doesn’t mean that you can’t change your Donate page. Look into imbedding the Giving First code into your own page design. Or, better yet, let’s convince Giving First to lead the way to improve their Donate form!
