With donations made via websites, social media and apps accounting for 26% of donations made to charities in the UK, it’s not surprising that most charities will have a donation page on their website.  However, with it now being the “norm” for people to see a donate button on a website, they can become desensitized and no longer notice them or feel drawn to make a donation. 

It’s no longer simply just important to provide the option for people to donate on your webpage, but to ensure that your donation page does an effective job at getting attention and encouraging donors to support your work.

 

Making your donation page do the hard work

Having a specific donation page on your website will enable people to easily donate to your organisation (or specific campaign), but consider taking the following additional steps to maximise the effectiveness of your donation page:  

1. Make your donation page mobile friendly (responsive) – Most people interact with emails and websites on their mobiles, so ensure that your page displays and functions properly on all devices.  If a supporter becomes frustrated with a form that crashes when viewed on a mobile, it’s less likely that they will return in future
2. Give people a clear reason to want to donate – the emotional hook that encouraged people to click on the page should be clear within the page itself to remind supporters why they wanted to donate to your charity
3. Be consistent with your messaging – Ensure that the messaging and tone conveyed across the rest of your site is also consistent with your donation page.  It is important that people know they are definitely in the right place when they visit your donation page, seeing messages which are consistent with the rest of your brand tone and language
4. Ensure your page is clear and simple to use – The page is for people to be able to donate to your cause so ensure that it’s not cluttered with other messages
5. Have a strong campaign – Don’t assume that because someone has landed on your donate page they will automatically support your campaign.  Continue fundraising with clear messaging about the need for support and the difference that support makes  
6. Don’t have too much text on the page – People can be overwhelmed, or become distracted if a page is full of text – keep it short and simple - only include relevant images
7. Simplify forms  – People are busy and likely to only spend a few minutes on a website at a time, therefore, it’s important to make the donation process as straightforward as possible  by removing unnecessary questions in forms and minimising any navigation options that will take donors away from the page
8. Keep the page up to date – Always keep the details of your donate pages up to date.  If your page contains outdated information it could send out a signal to potential donors that you are inaccurate and may not be the best steward of their gift
9. Test your page – Testing your page will help to uncover any issues and fix them before they potentially deter donors
10. Suggest a donation amount (or amounts) – Make it easy for your donors by offering suggested giving amounts and take the guesswork away.  Some people may want to donate more or less so provide the option for donors to stipulate an “other” amount
11. Provide the option for supporters to donate on a regular basis – If your supporters want to get behind your organisation it’s quite likely that they will want to support you with more than a 1-off gift, so provide the option to set up a regular giving option
12. Ensure people know that donating through your page is safe and secure – Use a recommended system to process donations
13. Make it easy for people to find your donation page – You could have the greatest donation page, but if people can’t get to it, it won’t result in income for your organisation.  Ensure that your page is clearly signposted from your homepage, other relevant web pages, social media accounts and in related campaigns.  It’s also important to ensure that any links to the page work

 

We know you work hard to create compelling campaigns so it’s vital to ensure that your motivated supporters are able to easily and safely make donations and add their support when visiting your website. To discuss ways we can help with developing your existing donation page, or to explore ideas for a whole new website please contact us– together we make more of a difference.

 

References/Acknowledgements:

http://www.futurefundraisingnow.com/future-fundraising/2016/12/5-ways-your-donation-pages-might-be-keeping-donations-away.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FutureFundraisingNow+%28Future+Fundraising+Now%29

Network for Good – 7 online donation page mistakes to avoid

http://www.npt-uk.org/philanthropic-resources/uk-charitable-giving-statistics