Improving donation page conversions: Tips for nonprofits

A donation page backed by a secure payment processor can be an efficient, accessible way to gather donations online. Nonprofits often embed “giving forms” into their websites for donors to easily access – but getting donors to navigate to your online donation page is just half the battle. Encouraging prospective supporters to follow through on their intention to donate can be a major challenge for nonprofits. In fact, the average donation page conversion rate for nonprofits is just 16 percent on desktop and an even smaller 10 percent on mobile. This is why streamlining your nonprofit’s donation page is so critical for improved conversion rates.

It’s clear that effective donation pages can facilitate a seamless giving experience by offering flexible donation options and including compelling information. Here are a few strategies for designing your nonprofit’s giving page to offer a similarly positive experience:

1. Streamline your donation page

A cluttered donation page can lead to abandonment, while a simplified one page is much less overwhelming for donors, ensuring that they don’t get distracted by unnecessary information or flashy design elements. Follow these tips when optimizing your donation page:

• Keep form fields to just the essentials. Contact information, donation amount, payment details and donation frequency are generally all that’s needed when collecting from donors. 
• Allow for guest checkout. Speed up the giving process by not requiring donors to create an account to give – but still offer the option for those who are looking to track their giving histories.
• Include clear calls to action. Make your submit button stand out on the page by using colors that contrast against the background.
• When it comes to design, less is more. When donors see that your donation form is quick and easy to fill out, they’ll side-step any overwhelm that could arise from a complicated layout and will be more likely to complete the donation process. 

2. Reiterate the impact of donations

Just because supporters have arrived at your donation form, you shouldn’t assume they are completely convinced to give. Encourage donors to follow through by highlighting your mission on your giving page through brief storytelling. Here are a few strategies for tying donations to positive change:

• Align giving amounts with impact. Let donors know specifically the impact their gift will have. For example, CARE.org explains the impact of giving at different levels; for example, a $70 donation equips four families with food gardens, $116 provides four families with direct food aid and so on. These details can help donors visualize the real, tangible impact of their gifts. 
• Give donors control over where they direct their giving. Allowing donors to choose from a list of causes gives them a greater sense of involvement. For example, the Memphis Zoo allows donors to choose the specific campaign they want to support, including an animal hospital fund, conservation fund or day-to-day support of animal residents. Having donors to choose which cause is most meaningful to them helps provide a greater sense of fulfillment. 
• Incorporate compelling imagery. There’s a reason the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” is still in use, as images quickly convey emotion and information. For example, charity: water features a single image that not only tells a story of clean drinking water, but also expresses positive emotion through the subject’s facial expression. With such a strong hero image, the rest of the page remains uncluttered and straightforward, making use of contrasting text colors and blank space.

Consider your audience when building a donation page. Donors should have a clear idea of how your organization will use their gifts and who they will help through their donations.

3. Make your donation page more accessible and inclusive

While 91 percent of nonprofits have a website, only 22 percent have sites designed with visually- and hearing-impaired individuals in mind. To create a welcoming space for all audience members all your website should be inclusive and accessible—and your donation form is no different.

Accessible, ADA-compliant forms ensure that site visitors with physical or mental impairments can still access your giving opportunities. Inclusivity means that your forms are sensitive to the wide range of backgrounds and experiences that your supporters may have. Improve your donation page’s accessibility and inclusivity by following these guidelines:

• Clearly label form fields. Make sure each form field has a written description that appears outside of the field itself. 
• Use sufficiently contrasting colors. A contrast ratio of 4.5:1 is the minimum recommended contrast for text and images of text (i.e., infographics). To verify that the colors on your donation page comply, use a contrast checker tool.
• Avoid auto-playing videos. Auto-playing videos can be confusing and distracting, not to mention they may be incompatible with assistive technology such as screen readers. It may be safer to avoid videos entirely on your donation page as they can distract from the donation process.
• Don’t add time limits to your form. Time limits can also create a negative experience because users may feel rushed or unable to complete the form within the limits. 
• Don’t require character maximums, minimums or other restrictions for proper names. Some names may be much longer or shorter than average, and some may also include symbols such as hyphens. Avoiding character restrictions and validation requirements to make your form more inclusive.

If you’re not familiar with online accessibility requirements, a nonprofit web design professional could help, as these experts are familiar with the accessibility guidelines for nonprofit organizations and can help you incorporate these necessities across your website, not just on your donation page.

4. Ensure your page is mobile-friendly

Making your online donation page mobile-responsive is one of the easiest ways to boost your conversion rate quickly, as over half of those visiting nonprofit websites are doing so on their mobile devices. For reference, mobile-friendly donation pages are:

• Responsive to multiple screen sizes
• Uncluttered and simple
• Fast-loading
• Pop-up free
• Touch-friendly, with easily-clickable buttons, form fields and links

Run your donation page through a mobile-friendly testing tool to determine whether it’s currently hitting the mark and discover changes you can make to improve your mobile responsiveness.

5. Enable multiple secure payment options

Offering a variety of secure payment options ensures that donors can fill out your giving form using any payment method they have on hand. Consider offering multiple payment options, such as:

• Credit/debit cards
• ACH bank transfers
• PayPal
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Cryptocurrency 
• Venmo, Zelle or Paze

Any payment services you use should offer PCI compliance and anti-fraud measures, meaning they should adhere to security standards set by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council and leverage payment data security measures and fraud detection to prevent unauthorized payments or identity theft.

6. Offer donors something in return

It never hurts to show donors your appreciation through tangible benefits – these can be physical items, special access or opportunities to encourage others in their circle to donate. Use your donation page to offer donors perks or action items, such as:

• Early access to events. Allow donors to sign up early for your nonprofit’s most popular events. 
• Rewards for local businesses. Partner with local businesses to give donors access to coupons, deals or even gift cards.
• Promotional items. Send donors a token of appreciation such as a free sticker, water bottle or magnet. 
• Exclusive donor newsletters. Add donors to your supporters-only email list to receive insider information about your nonprofit’s programs and services. 
• Special digital card: Digital messages allow donors to share their support for your cause with family members and friends, using them to request donations for your cause on your behalf. 
• Social media sharing. Give donors the chance to spread the word about their gift via Facebook or Instagram. 

Promote donor benefits using your nonprofit’s social media channels, email newsletters and the donation page itself.

These tips for helping improve donation page conversions don’t just apply to nonprofits – universities, healthcare organizations and other groups that collect donations can apply these strategies to their donation pages as well. Remember to keep your donation form streamlined, accessible and focused on your mission to help increase the likelihood of supporters following through with their donations. Be sure to track your form’s conversion rate before and after implementing any changes to analyze which versions of your giving page are most effective.