Your donation page is the last stop a donor will take in their online giving journey, so it needs to be perfect! Studies have shown that online giving is growing at three times the rate of overall giving. So having an exceptional donation page means securing online donors and tracking conversion rates.
What makes a great donation page? It needs to be clean, quick and motivate your visitor to take the final step in the giving process. If you haven’t already taken a look at your donation page with a critical eye, take some time to audit your page, making sure you’re following these best practices.
5 Best Practices You Need in Your Donation Page
Keep It Short!
Avoid stuffing too much information into your donation page. A wall of text can be very overwhelming for your page’s visitors, and your copy should outline your case for support in the least amount of text possible. Focus on guiding your reader to take a single action, like donating. So keep it clean and avoid adding too much text or words that can distract from your goal.
Invest in Fundraising Software
Online fundraising software helps you to not only track but also build exceptional donation pages! It allows you to access a ton of features like:
- Integrating pre-filled and custom amounts
- Integrating employer donation matching
- Offering recurring gift options
- Optimizing for all devices (desktop and mobile)
- Creating a donation ‘thermometer’ to encourage more donations and,
- Automatically send tailored donation receipts
Include Donation Amounts and Donation Impact
Let donors know how their donation will contribute to your organization. For example saying, "$10 provides 3 bags of dog food” or "$50 can feed a family for a month”. You can include this information in your pre-select donation amounts as a way for donors to conceptualize the impact their gift can make. Try offering 4-5 suggested donations along with the option to enter a custom amount. Another option is to highlight an amount that most people are giving right now. Often people aren’t sure what an appropriate donation amount is and they may have capacity to give more, so make it easy for them!
As with everything test, test, test! Run a report of all your online donations over the past year and have a look at the amounts. Think about what could be driving these amounts (are they the default amount?) and consider raising your suggested amounts by a nominal percentage, to gauge what happens.
Provide an Option to Become a Recurring Donor
One of the most important metrics for a nonprofit is donor retention rates. Recurring donors are incredibly valuable to nonprofits by providing consistent funding for our organization. It is also less costly to retain existing donors than to look for new ones, so be kind to your recurring donors!
Don’t be afraid to not only offer recurring donations as an option on your donation page but to make it the default option. Providing a link directly in your form makes it easier for donors to give again and again, which will boost retention rates and overall donation amounts.
Make Your Submit Button Stand Out
It may seem like a small part of your donation page, but your call to action button is one of the most powerful elements on the page. Use persuasive language, so Instead of "submit” or "donate now” try one of the following:
- Make a Difference
- Send Your Gift
- Support Mothers
- Save the Environment
- Be the Change
Use Click Triggers
A click trigger is any message positioned near a call to action, with the sole purpose of compelling people to finally take action. On a donation form, they help reassure the donor that they are making the right decision.
Your click trigger should neutralize any anxiety that will stop your visitor from moving forward and amplify the proceeding value and reminding your prospect of why they decided to donate in the first place. For example, a short quote from your founder/CEO explaining how valuable your donation is to them, or 1-2 sentences explaining how their gift will be used.
The Ontario SPCA does a great job in reassuring donors that their gift will go towards local animals providing food, shelter and comfort.
Conclusion
Your donation page is the cherry on top of a donor’s journey, so it needs to be seamless. Keep in mind, simplicity trumps all when it comes to donation pages. It’s also vital to be collecting data to access the success of your page. Tracking software will provide you with the information you need to improve your pages and overall fundraising strategy. Try data on donation size, when the donation was made, who donated, how much, how visitors reached your website.
Investing in your donation page is a huge bang-for-buck improvement you can make to your website and the most effective way to boost your fundraising efforts. Impress prospects and track success by using Donor Engine’s donation page. We are always happy to provide a free demo to improve your retention rates and save hours in managing your data!
