Your website is the first place most supporters will look when they want to learn more about your events, programs, and cause. However, your site isn’t just a marketing and education tool—it’s also the hub of your organization’s digital fundraising strategy.
A well-designed website with an accessible, engaging donation page inspires supporters to give and makes it easy to do so. By harnessing the full power of your website, you can maximize conversions, strengthen donor relationships, and ensure a sustainable future for your organization.
In this guide, we’ll cover four best practices to hone your web design and inspire generosity from new and existing supporters. Armed with a powerful nonprofit website, you can take your fundraising strategy to the next level.
Assess your site’s current performance.
The best place to start when kicking off a website redesign is figuring out your current site’s strengths and weaknesses. By identifying gaps in your web design, you can actively work towards implementing strategies that will help your nonprofit puts its best foot forward online.
Take a close look at metrics such as:
- Your current conversion rate: Consider how many people navigate to your website’s donation page and how many people follow through with submitting a gift. For instance, if 10 people land on your donation page and 5 of them make an online donation, your conversion rate is 50%. A low conversion rate is a strong indicator that it’s time to update the visual design and accessibility of your donation page and site as a whole.
- Where traffic to your donation page is coming from: There are many ways people might be reaching your donation page, such as through social media or a compelling homepage with a large, bold “Donate” button. Once you identify how people are getting onto your donation page, you can pinpoint where you’re doing a good job of directing supporters to donate and where you can improve.
- The rate at which different traffic sources convert versus others: Consider which traffic sources are your strongest (bringing the most visitors to your donation page) and which traffic sources could use further development. Even a page that’s doing relatively well can still be refined and updated over time.
- Fundraising data: Take a look at fundraising metrics and analytics like average donation amount, donation frequency, and characteristics of your donors, like their interests and backgrounds. If you understand your donors, you’ll be able to better market your nonprofit’s website to them and similar audiences who can become your supporters.
Google Analytics is a free tool that you can install on your website to measure these kinds of metrics and identify traffic sources. This should help you determine where to make modifications to enhance your site.
Simplify your most important landing pages
Based on what you’ve learned through your web and fundraising analytics, find the landing pages where you’re generating the most and least traffic, as well as the most and least conversions. Focus your efforts on making the most of or improving these pages first.
Consider the following questions to enhance your landing pages:
- Do these pages have streamlined navigation?: Your pages should have a predictable structure to create a positive user experience. This means including a navigation bar above the fold with text content below it, creating an organized page layout, and following a logical header hierarchy.
- Is the content engaging and easy to understand?: Your content should be accessible to any user who lands on your website. Ensure that the language used is clear, concise, and jargon-free, making it comprehensible to a wide audience. Additionally, leverage storytelling to engage readers and evoke an emotional response.
- Are there clear calls to action?: Calls to action (CTAs) are brief phrases that direct supporters to the next step they should take, such as applying to volunteer, signing up for your email newsletter, or donating to your cause. Your landing pages should have bold CTA buttons that use actionable language to inspire conversions, such as “Donate Now to End Child Hunger” or “Save Lives: Become a Volunteer Today!”
- Do you have plenty of visuals to break up content?: Visuals like photos, videos, and graphic design elements catch the reader’s eye and help break up your text so it’s more readable. Make sure your visual elements align with your organization’s brand to reinforce your identity while boosting awareness of your mission.
Keep in mind that your central goal is to encourage the user to get involved in your organization after reaching your website. Your site design should merge seamlessly with your content, and it shouldn’t be too fancy or technical. Avoid distracting users and always keep your audience’s experience in mind.
Streamline your donation page
Donors are more likely to submit a donation when the process is quick and accessible. Consider incorporating these best practices to make giving to your cause a smoother experience:
- Minimize the amount of unnecessary information you collect. Only require the most essential prompts, including the donor’s name and contact information, donation amount, and billing details. You can always learn more about your supporters after you’ve earned their first gift. Aly Sterling Philanthropy’s guide to donor stewardship recommends immediately sending a thank-you note acknowledging their support and providing opportunities for new donors to get more involved in your mission, such as volunteering or touring your facilities.
- Ensure your donation page is fully mobile-optimized. Donors should be able to conveniently give to your nonprofit right from their phone. Make sure that your webpage can be viewed on a smaller screen and all prompts and buttons are easy to tap on a touchscreen device.
- Use an integrated, secure payment processor. Your website should have a PCI-compliant payment processor that transfers funds directly from donors’ bank accounts and deposits them into the nonprofit’s account. This way, you can maintain donors’ confidence that their private information will be protected.
- Simplify the visual design on the page. While it’s recommended that you include images and text that convey the impact donations will have, these elements should be extremely focused so as not to distract from the actual donation process.
Rather than reconfiguring your donation page all by yourself and spending hours coding, work with a nonprofit-specific website builder. Morweb recommends investing in a solution that comes with a drag-and-drop interface, built-in accessibility tools, and customizable donation page templates that are already optimized for user experience. This way, you can revamp your donation page design in moments and maximize your results.
Add engagement-boosting tools and options
Look for ways to actively encourage more engagement both through the donation process and across your site. Ask yourself: If I were a potential donor, what would make me want to click on the donation page, donate, and then stick around?
For example, you might add the following features to your website to spark additional engagement and inspire generosity:
- Blog posts that show your organization in action: Share compelling stories, updates, and impact reports to give visitors a glimpse into your work. Commit to regularly posting to your blog so it’s up to date and shows that your nonprofit is actively pursuing its mission.
- Social media integrations: Feature your live social media feeds on your website to show recent images and videos of your nonprofit’s work. With the right CMS, you can also add social sharing buttons so visitors can share website pages with their friends and family, bringing more visibility to your cause.
- A members-only area: Offer exclusive content, resources, and community forums to supporters who are part of your nonprofit’s membership program. This can be a great incentive to encourage recurring giving and long-term involvement with your organization. To create custom member portals and members-only areas, work with a membership website builder built for nonprofits.
Remember to consistently check in on your website’s metrics, like page views and conversion rates, so you can assess engagement and make adjustments as necessary. The best websites are regularly refreshed to keep up with donors’ preferences and web design best practices! While fine-tuning your site again and again might sound overwhelming, the right website builder will make it a breeze.
Your nonprofit needs an effective website to connect with new and existing donors. By creating an accessible website with compelling content and features, you’ll be able to improve your fundraising strategy in no time. Make sure to pair your website marketing strategy with other platforms, like social media and email, to increase supporter touchpoints and drive donations.
