5 key things your donors and supporters expect from your charity website
When it comes to your website, it's time to get it right!
Your charity website should be the hub for anyone looking to find out about your organisation or cause, so it is vital you get it right. Our Introduction to Digital Marketing course leader gives us all the tips you need to ensure your website is up to scratch:
1. Ease of access to campaign information
You may well be communicating campaign messages through multiple channels, but ultimately your charity website is the central hub of information. Make sure all current and recent campaigns have high profile home page visibility and that you add to the information available elsewhere – don’t just simply repeat it, without continuing the story. Charity website visitors are likely to want to know things like:
- How is the campaign progressing?
- What else can I do to support, other than give money?
- Is anyone high profile supporting it?
- How can I help get others involved?
2. Visible signs that demonstrate you are a credible charity
One of the main barriers to giving can be a lack of trust. Make sure your credibility checklist is in order by making clearly visible things like:
- Registration details
- Report and accounts
- Direct Debit guarantee
- Familiar online giving platform branding
- % of funds raised that go to the cause
3. Content that shows you are delivering solution to a problem
People won’t support your charity if they no longer relate to the problem, or can’t see that you are making a real difference. It’s important to:
- Show that the problem still exists with up to date content and case studies
- Create smaller, easy to understand projects, that contribute to the bigger picture
- Accept that different audiences are interested in different things – create content that can meet the expectations of different, defined segments
- Sell success! For every negative try and balance with 2 or 3 positives…otherwise people may start to think it’s a lost cause
4. Opportunities to interact
We live in the age of the consumer! The public have more power today than ever before, so it’s important to make clear:
- Who to talk to if not happy
- What social media platforms you are active on and how to connect to them
- What others are saying about you, both positive and negative, with appropriate responses
- What’s in it for me if I get involved
5. Opportunities to discover
Humans are naturally inquisitive! The concept of creating ‘sticky content’ is really based around tapping into this, so check:
- Does it look fresh and up to date?
- Are there images and videos that show people (or animals!) doing interesting or inspiring things?
- What are the benefits to me of getting involved or supporting?
- Am I going to discover something new if I visit regularly?
- How am I, or can I, make a real difference to something I care about?
