5 Effective Website Design Tips to Increase Donor Giving
Having a worthwhile cause with impactful activities is not reason enough to inspire most donors to give to you. Help guide donors to make a donation or increase their contribution through better design. Follow these five essential design tips for your website, and as a result, you’ll convert more online visitors into donation givers.
1. Feature Your Donation Button Prominently
Your donation button should capture someone’s attention right away and be easy to locate quickly. Ideally, your button should be large, brightly colored, and located in the upper right area of your pages. Yes, pages. In other words, include the donate button on every page of your site.
2. Use Consistent Theme and Branding
Be sure to maintain brand consistency throughout your website. Keep the visual elements, like fonts, colors, and logos, consistent from one website page to the next. Your donation page especially should be in line with your nonprofit’s brand. Branded donation pages have been found to raise about six times more money. Why? Visual consistency reinforces the element of trust as your donors they navigate your website. Creating a seamless transition with effective brand-oriented visuals helps build this trust and increase the likelihood of a donation.
`3. Avoid Visual Clutter and Information Overload
The goal is to inform your visitors about your cause, of course, but another goal is to guide them to donate. Use your page design to help guide them on the donor journey. Make your messaging and calls to action clear, and minimize distractions that could lead a potential visitor on tangents or overwhelm them to the point of leaving.
4. Feature High-Quality Images and Video
Though your written content does matter, your visual content matters much. Humans are incredibly visual creatures, and imagery captures attention as well as inspires emotions. Present an eye-catching photo that will connect emotionally with your donor, featuring an image of a person or animal who could benefit from your work. People are more likely to connect to an individual story. Consequently, you should avoid generic-looking images, photos of buildings or inanimate objects, or pictures of crowds.
5. Streamline Your Donation Form
For the highest conversion rates, keep your donation form simple. Resist the temptation to use the form to gather as much information about your donors as possible; it’s better to follow-up in other communications such as donor surveys. The easier and quicker your form is to complete, the more visitors will complete the form and make a donation.
Limit the number of fields to the minimum necessary for the donation process. When your form requests too much information or involves too many steps, your donation page will experience a higher rate of abandonment, meaning visitors start the donation process but do not complete it.
Go Beyond Design Tips for Your Website!
For inspiration, check out some good examples of church website designs. How effective is your website for online giving? If you’d like insight into your site’s areas for improvement or assistance setting up your donation page and donor pipeline, schedule a free consultation with DonorWERX today. Design tips for your website can only do so much. You need a devoted giving strategy!
