Make your website work for your beneficiaries and offer intuitive experience to your doners.
The COVID-19 epidemic, social distancing standards, and a disrupted economy have all drastically altered the course of not-for-profit businesses. Without in-person events and with growing competition for attention online, the ability to effectively attract, engage, and convert prospective contributors online is vital. As a result, the expectations of the doners is that they are able to digitally engage with not-for-profit organisations to support the beneficiaries of their choice. So, all not-for-profit organisations must review their business strategy to be solid in their digital presence. If your website isn’t doing well or if you believe there is opportunity for improvement, you owe it to your cause to make some changes. This implies that web design projects are crucial investments for organizations, and they may include a wide range of tactics and methodologies. Consider the following do’s and don’ts as essential elements which are required for an effective website.
Do’s and Don’ts for a Not-for-Profit Website.
Don’ts in not-for-profit website design.
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- Don’t keep your donation button hidden – While your website should not shout, “give us money!” your DONATE button should be easily visible to everyone visiting your website. On every page of your website and blog, include a “Donate Now” button above the fold. The fold is the section of a website that remains at the top of the page even as a visitor scrolls up and down. Keeping your donation button above the fold means that no matter where someone is on your website, they may make a gift right away if the mood strikes. Many websites do this by placing the donate button in the top menu, where it may be seen at all times. As an extra plus, your organisation will no longer need to manually add the donate button to each page.
- Avoid using Flash – Flash used to be the king of the web. It sprang to prominence as a result of its use of video, animation, audio, and movement to make webpages more entertaining. Because Flash is no longer supported on many mobile devices, many contributors will be unable to view your site if they visit from a phone or tablet. Instead of Flash, most online fundraising tools use fast and easy replacements to Flash. If your organisation is creating its own website, it’s critical to make it as donor friendly as possible talk to your Web developer about this.
- Don’t have a Splash page – A splash page is the page that a user sees before accessing a website. Splash pages often include a “proceed” option, which redirects the donor to the homepage. Splash pages provide an extra step for donors to reach your website’s content. If donors cannot find the information they want within a few clicks after coming on your site, they will most likely quit it and search elsewhere.
- Avoid using self-playing audio or video – Donors biggest pet peeve is visiting a site and hearing or seeing audio or video without understanding where it’s coming from or how to stop it. Furthermore, unexpected sounds might be rather startling for those who aren’t expecting it. Audio and video recordings may be valuable assets for your organisation, but only if donors have control over them. Ensure that contributors may press the play button whenever they desire. Otherwise, they could be discouraged from visiting your website. Allowing donors to click on your video or audio material also provides an interactive aspect to your website, which may keep them on the page for longer.
Don’ts in not-for-profit website design.
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- Tell Your Story – One of the most valuable benefits of being a charity is having a narrative to share. Telling a narrative may help donors connect with your cause and motivate them to take action. After all, donors are far more willing to donate if they know exactly who their donations will benefit and how their contributions will support your cause. Stories make your cause more tangible to funders, so utilize your web tools to communicate them as efficiently as possible. Your website is the ideal area to display a mix of graphic and textual material that will help your donors understand your objective. Use a variety of media to communicate your tale, such as:
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- Videos.
- Infographics.
- Photos.
- Quotes and testimonials
- Exemplifications.
The objective is that your website should encourage donors to remain and interact with your material in an intuitive way.
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- Links to social media – Include links to your organisation’s social media profiles in the sidebar or footer of your website. Remember to include them in your newsletters and email signatures as well. Make sure your social media links are visible as you publish blog material, which is a great means of creating trust with your supporters and prospective funders, showcasing the importance of your work, and improving your SEO rankings. You should allow people to share content on other social media networks, this helps your increase the reach and awareness.
- Make it quick – The speed of your website is critical. Donors are more likely to quit a site that takes more than a few seconds to load. Here are a few things you can do to keep your site running quickly:
- Optimize the photos on your website. Several free internet programs are available to help you resize and compress your photographs.
- Scripts and plugins must be properly managed and compressed.
- Don’t go overboard with bespoke web fonts.
- Keeping your website quick will not only keep donors on your page longer, but it will also boost your ranking in search engine results.
- Transparency in Finance – Donors want to know where their funds are going. To develop confidence with your current and new supporters, provide transparent insight into your organisation’s financials. It’s also a good idea to have pictures on your website that show the impact of various levels of donations. For guests, connect the links between their donations and the effect they can make.
- Mobile friendly – Donations through mobile and tablet devices have increased dramatically in the last several years. Make sure your site is mobile and tablet compatible, so that on-the-go donations have an equally pleasant user experience. Here are some tips for improving the mobile experience:
- Make big, easy-to-click buttons.
- Make sure that data fields on contribution forms are easy to fill out on a mobile device.
- Optimize page performance by resizing and compressing photos.
- Make use of big, easy-to-read typefaces.
- Ensure that contributors do not have to resize your website on a mobile device by zooming in or out.
- In a mobile mode, ensure that your material is vertically aligned.
- Tell Your Story – One of the most valuable benefits of being a charity is having a narrative to share. Telling a narrative may help donors connect with your cause and motivate them to take action. After all, donors are far more willing to donate if they know exactly who their donations will benefit and how their contributions will support your cause. Stories make your cause more tangible to funders, so utilize your web tools to communicate them as efficiently as possible. Your website is the ideal area to display a mix of graphic and textual material that will help your donors understand your objective. Use a variety of media to communicate your tale, such as:
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These essential components form a solid foundation for any not-for-profit website. Remember that your website—from its content to its navigation to its colour scheme is your most powerful tool for attracting online donations and, as a result, driving the overall success of your charity.
Do you require assistance in ensuring that your website meets industry standards? Please contact us for a no-obligation consultation.