Don't just throw together your nonprofit's online giving page. With 54% of donors preferring to give online, it’s more important than ever to put some extra thought and effort into your nonprofit's donation page design.
When donors find a donation page to be untrustworthy, lengthy, or difficult to use, they’re more likely to abandon their gift before their transaction is complete.
During the donation page design process, be sure to keep the following tips in mind:
Read through these design tips and check out our examples to make sure your nonprofit’s donation page is up-to-par. Let’s get started!
Make sure your nonprofit maintains brand consistency from one website page to another, especially on your donation page.
Visual consistency maintains the element of trust for your donors as they navigate on your website. Creating a seamless transition using effective brand-oriented visuals is key to keeping this trust.
Maintain your organization’s brand consistency by:
Maintaining brand consistency in the small visual elements throughout your site makes a big difference in your fundraising efforts. Branded donation pages on a nonprofit’s website have been found to raise 6X more money.
Check out the donation page design example below of New York Pet Rescue who customized a Morweb template to match their brand:
Customization is key to creating a consistent visual appeal across your nonprofit’s website. The more customization options you have, the more brand-specific you can make your content.
According to Nonprofit Source, 25% of donors complete their donations on mobile devices. If your page isn’t mobile-optimized, you could be losing that 25% of online donations!
Be sure to design your donation page on a platform with mobile-responsive automation. Responsive websites adjust to fit various screen sizes to make them easy to view on different devices.
Not only should your information be easy to view on different screen sizes, but it should also be easy to interact with from a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer. A mobile-responsive design will offer tap-friendly menus that make your website easy to navigate on a smartphone.
Your ‘Donate’ button should be clearly displayed at all times without having to dig through the menu or scroll. On all Morweb website themes, the donate button is optimized to display on the top right on every screen resolution.
More tips for designing a mobile-friendly donation page include:
Use mobile optimization tools within your CMS platform to make sure your donors can view and interact with your donation page no matter what device they are viewing from. Check out how this donation page looks on mobile for example:
Mobile optimization is one of the easiest ways that your nonprofit can expand the reach of your website and appeal to a wider donor base.
Too many nonprofits stop after tip 2 in their design process. While this creates a highly effective donation page, it does not maximize the funds that your nonprofit can bring in through online fundraising.
Once you have an effective general design for your nonprofit’s donation page, there are some additional steps you can take to boost your donations.
First, provide easy donation options for your donors to choose from. These options include:
The Bronx Charter School for Children’s donation page provides an excellent example of how you can make these donation page options stand out:
Remember that donors prefer to give using different online methods. For instance, some like to get something in return for their gift, others may prefer to attend an event, and others may choose to participate in a particular campaign rather than give to your annual fund. Additionally, there are various corporate giving programs that your donors might want to take advantage of as well!
Provide other ways to give in addition to your donation page to see a boost in fundraising for your nonprofit. Some of these options include:
While you can effectively design your donation page without these elements, adding some giving options will help your nonprofit maximize your fundraising potential.
One of the most common flaws of nonprofits’ donation pages is clutter. Nonprofit professionals often try to include every possible angle to appeal to their audience on their donation page. However, the old saying, “less is more” truly applies to donation page design.
Map out a minimalist design for your donation page to keep the donor’s eye focused on the pertinent details and guide them through the donation process.
Make sure to limit the number of fields you include in your donation page to those that are absolutely necessary for the giving process. One way to do this is to make sure that everything fits on a single page. Including “next” buttons on your donation page creates more steps for your donors and more opportunities for them to leave the page.
When you ask for too much information or have too many steps, your nonprofit will see a higher rate of shopping cart abandonment or those who get partway through the donation process, but later bail for one reason or another. Clean up your donation page by:
Check out this minimalist page design used to create this example for the American Friends of Covent Garden:
Morweb’s CMS platform, equipped with premade nonprofit-specific templates, makes it easy to organize attractive, minimalist donation pages.
When designing your nonprofit’s donation page, the last thing you want is for donors to leave your website to access the donation form. Many fundraising software providers require that you create the donation page through their online platform, forcing donors to switch domains to give.
Think about it, if you’re a donor who’s ready to provide your financial information and you get a popup window or a new tab with a domain name and look and feel that is different than the website you were just on, you may become suspicious and abandon your donation. Switching domains without warning causes confusion and can make donors feel like the site is untrustworthy or even worse, a phishing attempt to steal their information!
The ideal setup and design of your donation page should enable donors to give right as they feel inspired and safe.
The best way to streamline the giving experience from your home page to your donation page is to create your donation form within your website by using a secure CMS platform that has ideal solutions for nonprofits. To facilitate this process, your nonprofit CMS should offer the following functionality:
Below are a handful of nonprofit websites with donation pages built on Morweb’s CMS platform:
When you use a nonprofit CMS with built-in donation pages, you’ll find it easy to create an attractive donation page on a user-friendly interface. You’ll also provide a better giving experience for your donors by allowing them to give directly through your site, leaving them with a confident giving experience!
Designing an effective donation page requires comprehensive knowledge of required content and visual appeals. Your nonprofit shouldn't need to worry about coding literacy in addition to these skills.
Leveraging a non-technical and feature-rich CMS platform to create your website will help your nonprofit create an effective donation page design that will draw donors in.
For more information about how you can use your CMS platform to grow your nonprofit’s online presence, check out these additional resources:
Categories: Fundraising