{"id":46869,"date":"2022-05-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=46869"},"modified":"2024-05-09T01:36:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T01:36:49","slug":"how-to-create-a-donation-page-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/how-to-create-a-donation-page-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Donation Page: Best Practices for Fundraising Pages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A donation page is one of the most important components of your website and can make or break your fundraising. When you\u2019re raising money, getting visitors to your website is only the first step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your donation page should ultimately aim to close the loop by converting those individuals into donors. If your page is sloppy, clunky, or confusing, it\u2019s counterproductive to driving more donations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elements of a Donation Page<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking to revamp your current donation page<\/a>, here\u2019s six elements you shouldn\u2019t overlook:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Logo\/Branding<\/strong> – A branded donation page increases consumer confidence. You want the look and feel – colors, logo, and fonts – consistent across your website and donation page so there\u2019s no question as to where your donors are giving to.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Donate button<\/strong> – A donate button<\/a> displayed on your navigation bar and accessible on every page is a must-have. You could have an eye-catching donation page but it\u2019s pointless if no one knows how to get there. Make sure your donate button stands out by using a prominent color or a bold font. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Recurring donation option<\/strong>. One-time donations are fantastic but giving your donors the chance to opt into donating on a regular, ongoing basis is a no-brainer. It\u2019ll make your life (and theirs) easier in the long-run.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Donation tiers<\/strong>. Add suggested giving levels and tie each amount back to impact. For instance, $500 can provide school supplies for 10 kids experiencing homelessness for 1 month. When people can conceptualize the impact of their gift with specific outputs, average contributions increase by 12%<\/a>. Refer to your organization\u2019s gift history to inform your current donation tiers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Mobile-optimized<\/strong>. With the majority of nonprofit website traffic coming from users browsing on mobile devices<\/a>, a mobile-friendly donation page should make giving from any device a seamless and enjoyable experience. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Keep it simple<\/strong>. Collecting as much information as you can all at once can be overwhelming for your donor and put them off from donating entirely. Instead, we recommend reducing the number of form fields to the essentials – name, email, and payment\/billing information – necessary to receive and thank them for their gift. If you\u2019d like additional information, use this as an opportunity to follow up (and get to know your donor)! <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Types of Donation Pages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Website Donation Page<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \"Donation-Page-TCF\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The first type of donation page<\/a> is one where a form (or button) is directly embedded. Rather than being routed to a third-party, your donors can donate right on your website. A custom-branded embedded form generates trust between your organization and prospective donors and can translate to raising 6x more money<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Donation-Page-Rez-Refuge\"
    Rez Refuge uses Causevox\u2019s embedded donation page to make sure they cover all the bases donors are looking for<\/em>. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    With CauseVox\u2019s integrated donation page, setting up a donation form (or button) on your website has never been easier. In a few simple steps<\/a>, you can customize your form fields, add your logo, and create a visually-appealing form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Donation-Page-Meat-Fight\"
    Meat<\/em> Fight\u2019s embedded CauseVox donation page with descriptive tiers<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Free-Standing Campaign Donation Page<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re running an event- or program-specific campaign (like a peer-to-peer<\/a> or a crowdfunding<\/a> campaign), these are likely donation pages that won\u2019t be directly embedded. This means that you\u2019ll be using an online donation platform to run your campaign and a free-standing form (separate from your website) to take donations. CauseVox\u2019s campaign pages are easy to use right out of the box with a base template that can be customized to meet your specific branding needs: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Donation-Page-Ubuntu\"
    Ubuntu Football\u2019s Donation Page<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Even though these pages aren\u2019t directly embedded on your website, you can integrate CauseVox into your website via a direct donate link or by customizing your campaign URL to reflect your event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Donation-Page-CauseVox\"
    Kansas Advocates for Better Care\u2019s Stand by Me 2021 Campaign with customized URL<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Recurring and Pledge Donations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    A recurring gift is literally the gift that keeps on giving. While we briefly touched on this topic above, recurring gifts can benefit your org in a number of ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. It provides a predictable income stream and eliminates some of the guesswork when it comes to budgeting and forecasting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. It\u2019s convenient and easy for your donors. Once it\u2019s set, you\u2019ll automatically continue to receive that donation on a schedule. There\u2019s no need to process individual payments or hit up one-time donors for another gift.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. It works for donors on a budget. For example, donors may find that giving $10 or $20 each month is more manageable than $100 at once. With payments spread out over time, donors end up contributing 42% more on average annually than they would with a one-time gift<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      \"Optimized-Donation-Page\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      CauseVox\u2019s recurring gift option lets your donors \u201cset it and forget it\u201d by choosing a dollar amount to be given on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      While recurring donations are a great option, we\u2019ve also developed an additional automated option. With CauseVox’s pledge donation option<\/a>, we go the extra mile to provide donors even more flexibility and autonomy. The difference between recurring gifts and pledges is that a pledge starts with a bigger amount<\/em> that is broken down over time and has an end date<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Best-Donation-Page\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Pledges on CauseVox help automate donations by allowing your donors to pledge an amount today and pay in designated installments. In addition, CauseVox now offers a PayPal integration that can connect to Stripe AND PayPal, all in one donation form<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Donation-Page-Paypal-Button\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Tracking What Matters <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Once you\u2019ve made sure your donation page has all of the necessary elements, it\u2019s important to measure performance so you know what\u2019s working and what isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You\u2019re going to want to track key performance indicators (KPIs<\/a>) that impact your bottom line. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n