Have You Seen Your Website Lately?

When was the last time you looked at your website? What were you looking for? Of course, it should be pleasing to the eye.  We are all drawn to attractive things. But what is your website sharing with its viewers? What do you want your website to do for you? 

People coming to your website have an interest in your organization. They want to find out what you’re all about. They want to know what you are doing to help those you serve and the results of those efforts.

In this age of information overload, look at your website and be sure it is saying what you want it to say. Is it easy for anyone viewing the site to understand your mission and your effectiveness? Be strategic about the information shown upon the initial load of the home page. While a scroll or click is not much effort, it is more effort than some viewers are willing to make.

Also consider, everyone viewing your website is a potential donor. How easy is it for them to give? Do you have a donate button on your home page? Is it easy to locate? Once they find your giving form, how easy is it to give? Are there fields on the form you don’t really need? It may be worth examining what data is useful. If you are collecting data you don’t use from the giving form, consider removing the fields from the form. If your giving form has a mechanism to encourage donors to become recurring donors, turn that on! It’s easier to keep a donor than find a new one.

A wealth of information about your organization can and should be available through your website. Just take a quick look at your site and try to view it through the eyes of a first-time visitor. Is there something you see that draws you in and makes you want to know more? Can you quickly see what the organization is doing and is it easy for the first-time visitor to give once they see how important your work really is? Make the site beautiful, but don’t overdo it. Remember, sometimes less is more.