How To Set Up a Donation Page That Converts

Providing a way for your donors to donate online is a fantastic way to make giving more convenient and accessible.

It's important to provide a way for donors to give online, creating a donation page that is optimized is of equal importance.

Whether you are trying to set up a donation page for your nonprofit, church, school, or political campaign, these tips will help you create an optimized donation page that will help boost your online giving.

Let’s get started!

Use consistent branding

Having consistent branding across your entire website, including donation pages, is very important.

Why?

Imagine clicking on a donate button on a website and then being led to a donation page that looks nothing like the main website you were just on.

The colors are different and the organization’s logo is nonexistent. All of these are red flags that lead you to feel uncomfortable with providing your payment information and second-guess your donation.

Here’s something else to keep in mind: Custom-branded donation pages on a nonprofit’s website help raise up to 6 times as much money on average.

All that being said, make sure your donation pages are customized to match your main website’s branding. Add your organization’s logo, and use the same colors and messaging you use on your main website.

Do this and you will provide a seamless transition from your website (where your donor was initially inspired to give) to your donation page (where they will actually complete the donation).

All in all, provide a good website experience!

→ Learn four nonprofit fundraising tactics that you can implement right away to drive people to action!

Use inspiring images

Use inspiring images on your donation page! Don’t include mediocre images on your donation page just for the sake of having a photo.

Make sure you are using images that are high-quality, visually appealing, and inspiring.

For example, include images that create an emotional connection with your mission, photos of individuals that will benefit from the donation, or real photos of people from your organization.

If you do not have access to any good images, you always have the last option to use free stock photos, from Unsplash, or paid stock photos, from Shutterstock.

But, be careful with how you use stock photos.

Certain stock photos can make your donation page feel inauthentic and can confuse people about your organization’s mission. Choose the right stock photos that communicate authenticity and relate to your organization’s cause.

Communicate security

When someone decides to give via a donation page, they are also choosing to submit sensitive and personal information.

This can be scary for potential givers if your donation forms do not reassure them that their information is safe.

You can follow best practices and guidelines to make sure your donation form is safe and secure, but how can you show that to your givers?

A simple way to communicate security is to include a padlock icon or any sort of security visual on your donation form!

This helps communicate to your givers that their information is secure.

Note: All Anedot donation pages automatically have a padlock icon in the footer. This conveys to the donor that we are securing their donation and will protect their personal information using industry leading security measures.

→ Learn about the four types of donation scams to be aware of so that you can protect your organization from them!

Remove distractions on donation forms

Be sure to not confuse people with your donation page.

If a donation page is filled with unneeded links, long paragraphs of text that do not contribute anything to the page, or an unnecessary amount of images, a giver can easily be distracted and may even leave the donation page altogether.

Remove navigation menus, sidebars, and other elements that may distract people from donating. Remember, the main purpose of donation pages is to get people to donate.

Don’t let a poor website experience lead to a decreased number of donations.

Make it mobile-friendly

Did you know that half of all nonprofit website traffic last year came from mobile and tablet users?

Did you also know that by incorporating mobile-responsive design to their websites, nonprofits can increase their donations by 126% on average?

Mobile-optimized giving pages are more important than ever!

If your website is designed just for desktop users, you're missing a huge opportunity to connect with a wider audience.

Give all your website visitors a great and functional experience, whether they are visiting from a desktop, tablet, or phone.

In return, your donations may increase drastically!

→ Check out this essential guide on text to give to see how you can boost your organization's fundraising efforts!

Offer recurring giving

Recurring givers are crucial to your organization because they are the most engaged and loyal givers.

They also will give 42% more in one year than those who give one-time gifts!

Recurring giving not only helps your organization, but it also helps your givers because of its convenience! It helps simplify their giving process since everything will be automated!

Whether they set up weekly or monthly payments, your givers will give consistently and automatically through recurring giving.

Pro-tip: Try setting up a recurring upsell on your donation form!