Donations are the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations like churches and ministries. Once upon a time, such organizations relied on the communal collection bucket for the bulk of their weekly donations. Times have changed. The only guaranteed digital solution for earning money is the online donation page (or giving page).
If you've ever sent a donation to a charitable organization, you'll almost certainly have done so through a similar fundraising page. Just like a landing page for a for-profit company, these pages must inform a potential donor about the cause, explain where the money gets spent, and provide a simple donation method.
Sounds easy, right?
Unfortunately, too many organizations don't optimize their giving page. Poor formatting, lackluster content, and other problems can hamper fundraising campaigns. Below, we're explaining the ins and outs of donation page optimization.
In this guide:
- What is a Donation Page?
- How to Create a Donation Page
- Donation Page: Best Practices to Boost Conversions
What is a Donation Page?
Donation pages (aka giving pages or fundraising pages) are website pages dedicated to raising financial support for a cause, organization, or individual. It details the key facts about the cause, facilitates the transaction process, and often adds the option for one-time or recurring donations.
Think about popular sites like GoFundMe or Just Giving – they're the most common donation page examples. However, any website – be it for a church, ministry, or charity – can feature a custom-made giving page.
How to Create a Donation Page
Got a website already? Creating a donation page simply means adding a new page to your site that's dedicated to taking donations.
You'll want to craft a compelling story highlighting your cause's significance and the impact of donations. That's not just about words – pictures and videos connect your message to the real world. They add a face to the statistics.
Paperless Transactions includes a drag-and-drop editor for building and maintaining a fundraising page. As part of the overall website builder, you can create visually compelling pages in minutes. The platform can also handle the interface and reporting for complex directed donations and fundraisers.
Common examples of different donation page interfaces include:
- Nonprofit Websites: Direct donation buttons or pages on official organizational websites facilitate easy contributions.
- Crowdfunding Platforms: Sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter allow for collective support of personal, charitable, or creative initiatives.
- Social Media Platforms: Features like Facebook's Donate Button or Instagram's Donation Stickers enable charitable giving directly within the platform.
- Text-to-Give Platforms: Donors can quickly send contributions by simply texting a specific number.
- Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Platforms: Platforms like Classy empower individuals to run personal fundraising campaigns for chosen charities.
Donation Page: Best Practices to Boost Conversions
- Get to the Point
- Multiple Giving Options
- Simple, Streamlined Design
- Security Assurance
- Easy-to-Use Payment Process
- Ensure Mobile Optimization
1. Get to the Point
Start your giving page with a strong headline communicating your campaign and desired action. In just 30 seconds, your page should convey everything you want donors to know about your cause through text, photos, videos, and graphics.
Keep the design streamlined and distraction-free. That means crisp, high-quality images, powerful stories, and direct copywriting.
Consider that users typically leave a website within 10 to 20 seconds unless there's a clear value proposition, according to the Nielsen Norman Group. That's how long you've got.
2. Multiple Giving Options
Over half of Millennials are interested in giving a monthly donation. The message is clear: don't limit your donation options. You should provide options for one-time, monthly, or annual donations. It also allows people to donate via whatever means they can, including bank transfers, credit cards, or even Apple Pay.
3. Simple, Streamlined Design
As any SEO (search engine optimization) expert will tell you, slow page load times lose you donors. Your bounce rate increases by 32% when page load time goes from one to three seconds – the average page speed is 1.65 seconds.
The easiest way to reduce page load times is to simplify your donation page design. Use graphics, pictures, and video only when necessary to emphasize a point.
4. Security Assurance
Donating money online comes with numerous security concerns. Is the donation page legit? What will they do with my information? Am I at risk of being hacked?
Highlight the security features of your donation process to alleviate these concerns. Display security badges, use SSL encryption, and reassure donors that their personal and financial information is safe.
5. Easy-to-Use Payment Process
Use a trusted payment gateway or third-party vendor to keep the donation process as simple as possible. Learn a lesson from eCommerce checkouts – according to Forter, an online fraud prevention platform, 30% of shoppers say they'll abandon a cart if asked to re-enter their credit card number.
The more steps you ask them to complete, the less likely they'll follow through with the donation.
6. Ensure Mobile Optimization
Mobile is the future of the internet – if it isn't already. Your donation page should be 100% mobile-optimized. That means it's formatted for smaller smartphone screens, can accept donations from a phone, and includes an easy way to share the page, letting donors send the page to their friends and family.
Listen to the 73.1% of web designers who think that non-responsive design is the top reason why visitors leave a website.
Closing Thoughts
Optimizing your donation page is key to maximizing support for your cause. Whether creating a simple design, a bold message, or security assurances, these best practices will boost your donor conversion rate.
Build a fundraising page from scratch using our drag-and-drop website builder. At Paperless Transaction, you'll get hands-on design support, personalized content, and trusted payment processing.
Ready to amplify your impact? Schedule a demo to get started with your optimized donation page today!