Step 8: Avoid Five “Don’ts” of Nonprofit Website Design
Your nonprofit's website can be a powerful, strategic tool. Unlike the days of brochure-like static pages, home pages now have the potential to win over potential supporters and reaffirm the folks who already know you. When you boil it down, websites do not just sit on a server-they are action-oriented. They persuade and (hopefully) convert. And for the latter-in terms of raising money online-your website has the most potential with two groups of donors: new donors and impulse givers. When these newbies visit your website, what do they see? What's their experience with your navigation and donation processes? According to recent research, nonprofits could be leaving as much as 10 percent of their online revenue on the table simply due to two website usability issues: content and design. Read on for the five content and design flubs to avoid when you aim to convert browsers into donors: 1. A lack of call-to-action. The number one thing to avoid when asking for donations on your website is to forget to make the ask! (Yes, this is also on our list of "website do's," but it's important enough to mention at least twice.) If you don't ask for donations, website visitors might think you don't need them. Yes, it's almost laughable to us in the nonprofit world, but Web-savvy surfers assume that if something's missing, it's intentional. 2. Jargon breath. (No, this has nothing to do with the take-out you had for dinner last night.) "Jargon breath" refers to a tendency by communicators-particularly in the nonprofit sector-who rely on a particular vernacular of terms to try to educate others
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