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While the "three-click" rule is more of a guideline, adhering to it as closely as possible will force you to prioritize and edit your site's content and the navigation of that content for more clarity and ease of use. Let's not forget that the attention span of most of us on the Web is like that of a caffeinated finch.
Keep it quick and easy
After answering the preceding questions covering content, design and navigation, I then move on to reviewing the Web site's fundraising elements ?themselves.
On the homepage, is there a highly visible "Donate Now" (or some similar phrase) button that is separate from the navigation bar and residing in a prominent place on the page itself? Is this button replicated on each and every page throughout the site, preferably in the same location on each page? The reason for this is primarily due to the fact that you'll never be able to predict what pages and in what order people might view your site. And search engines might link a visitor to any internal page, not just your homepage. Once a visitor makes the decision to become a donor from whatever page she might be on, you want to make it as easy as possible for her to start the process.
Are there text links to the donation page within the copy wherever appropriate? This is a simple way to capitalize on an opportunity for a potential donor who might be moved to give while reading about your worthy mission and wonderful stories to do so right from the content itself, particularly if you make a direct ask within this content.
Does the donation page have minimal copy? Now's not the time to go droning on about your projects or mission. Simply make your case for giving, and let the donor do the rest.
Does the donation page facilitate a credit-card gift using no more that three simple steps? Does it use pull-down menus to provide donors with options such as gift designations or credit-card types without the donor leaving the donation page? Making the donor go somewhere else on your site to designate a gift or find some other information is a huge mistake. Anytime you do this, you place a barrier in front of the donor and run a very high risk of losing that gift right ?then and there. Remember, ?caffeinated finch.
Is the credit-card form donors fill out as simple and minimal as possible? This is not the place to ask donors to sign up for your newsletters or how they found you, or any other question or request not directly related to the donation process itself. This form should ask the donor to fill out only the information you need to receive the gift.
Is the site secured by a reputable SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) service provider, and is this company's logo prominently visible? Even if you write your own SSL code, make certain that you have language asserting the complete security of donors' vital credit-card information. Donors need to know your Web site is safe for them to give. Seeing the VeriSign or other security company's logo provides this assurance quickly.
Lastly, once a donor has provided an online gift, is there a heartfelt, automatically generated thank-you e-mail? This e-mail should not only thank the donor, but mention that she will hear from you very shortly. Within a day or less, you should send another personal, warm and gracious e-mail thanking the donor and providing a receipt. This should not feel like a form e-mail, but an actual note from someone in your organization. Many of the principles of writing direct mail also apply to e-mail, and the way you thank donors is certainly one of them.
If your Web site is already doing all of these things, congratulations, you have a donor-friendly site. If not, then I hope this bit of friendly advice helps you and your organization. FS
Richard DeVeau is owner/creative director of Richard DeVeau Copy Writing & Creative Direction. Reach him at radeveau@aol.com
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