When I am conducting website audits, the first thing I check is to see if the non-profit has included the top 5 pages on their website that are vital to capturing your visitor's attention, converting traffic and ulitmately more donations.
Those top five website pages are about us, get involved, financial information, wish list and donate.
This may seem pretty explanatory, but for some smaller non-profits, it might not come to top of mind automatically.
1). About Us Page: This page is hands down your most important page. It tells your story, why you do what you do and it connects the visitor to your mission. The use of impactful imagery, warm inviting text, and a clear mission statement must be included on this page. Its also a good idea to have a shortened, one sentence from this page that fits front and center on your homepage to draw people to this page.
2). Get Involved: This is the fun page! Show your supporters how they can interact with your organization, how they can volunteer, participate, attend an event, etc. This page should showcase pictures from your most recent events, volunteer opportunities, upcoming events on a event calendar, etc.
3). Financial Information: This is one of the most forgotten about pages but another very important one. Donors want to see where money is really going. Being transparent about this makes your donor trust you, and makes them more inclined to donate to your organization.
4). Wish List: Don't sleep on this one! Ask your supporters to donate in-kind items you regularily spend money on. You can ask for all kinds of things, chances are your supporters have some of them just laying around they could donate, or wouldn't mind giving you money to support them.
5). Donate: This is a no brainer right? Let's hope so. But the asthetics of this page is just as important then just having one. First, make sure your donate page is easy to get to. You should have a clean url for this one- For example yourdomain.com/donate
Another great idea for this page is listing price points for your donor to consider, rather than leaving it open ended. For example, $25 covers the cost of providing 3 meals a day for a family of four. Actual tangible items with prices are more likely to get chosen, then leaving your donation amounts open to the donor.
I hope these pointers help when reviewing your own non-profit website. If you need edits made so you are up to date with these, I'd love to help you with that! You can reach me at amy@amysenat.com
