Session Notes: Website best practices

During our success call this week, we discussed best practices for your website and the Websites by DonorDock product offering where we help you refresh your current site or create a new website.

This session also covered our latest release, Giving Hearts Day, and any Q&A as it related to DonorDock.

To make sure all of the monthly success calls are added to your calendar, visit webinars & events.

Your Website and Websites by DonorDock

The Websites by DonorDock product offering is similar to our CRM product in that the foundation is built solely on DonorDock's desire to help nonprofits. This website offering organizes the front-end experience while integrating with the backend CRM experience.

How do I know if my organization should be thinking about putting more into my website?

• If your organization is feeling overwhelmed and needs more information dispersed to educate donors on who you are and what you do.
• If your organization needs to significantly increase donations.

Why should I update my website?

• A website is the front door of your organization. Data shows, especially now, people equate the quality of your message to be the same of your quality of care.

Website Best Practices

1. Make sure your website is optimized for mobile
   - To test if you are optimized, page through your website on two separate phones and two different screen sizes. You can also do a quick test by visiting: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly
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2. Minimize page load time (make sure it's loading quickly when people visit)
   - If your site doesn’t load immediately, people are more likely to leave.
   - To optimize your page load time, you can check image size on the website and size them down. This is important for peoples' experience, and how you show up on Google. (Google may penalize you this offense.)
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3. Improve web security
   - Be sure to sure to check your SSL certificates if your website doesn’t have HTTPS in front of the URL. This security measure is really valuable for the way people see and view your site.
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4. Use integrations effectively
   - Having a “one stop experience” where people can go to your website to donate, fill forms for volunteering, purchase event tickets, sign up for a newsletter, etc. is an effective way to get people involved. All of that should be integrated into your site and can also be integrated with DonorDock for that data sharing.
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5. Use effective calls to action
   - This is the MOST IMPORTANT practice to take away. Make sure there is a noticeable button in the top corner of your website that says DONATE so it is very clear to your audience.
   - It’s important to know even when someone takes the action to donate, they still haven’t made a decision to donate, so it’s critical that this landing page is designed and set up to encourage a donation. You can do that by having a suggested donation amount, and provide an understanding as to why someone should donate and how their donation will help. Providing suggested amounts should have a median of $45 for effectiveness.
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6. Make data your friend
   - Add google analytics to your website so you can see what pages are being visited and not visited. While this could seem overwhelming, this is a helpful way for you to analyze things you are doing well and make a plan to improve experiences through your website that aren’t doing as well.
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7. Be clear with your organization's story
   - Ask yourself this question, “What should I say on my website to inspire donor’s to be generous?”
   - Review the Story Arc Illustration and identify the following:
   - - Answer the question of the Problem you are combatting as an organization.
   - - Show people what’s possible with their generosity by Sparking Hope.
   - - Show the Solution to the problem that your organization is really doing.
   - - Highlight your History of Success of people who’ve been helped by your organization or showcasing a list corporate sponsors.
   - - Illuminate a big vision for people to get them excited about what’s coming next and wha’s possible through a Hope for the Future.
   - - Be sure to have a really specific Call to Action, which can go beyond donations.

New Features

Contribution Statements

You were once able to just send contribution statements in bulk via letter. We have just released an enhancement to that functionality by allowing you to send contribution statements via letter and via email as follows:

1. Through a bulk contribution statement report, as you have done in the past
2. Through a bulk customized gift report
3. Through individual contact records

You can find a video and step by step instructions on Sending Annual Contribution Statements in our Knowledge Base.

GHD Dashboard

The Giving Hearts Day Dashboard has been updated and is ready for 2021 GHD. If you need access to the GHD dashboard you can do so by completing the following steps:

1. Go to the Settings Menu grid in the upper right hand corner of DonorDock
2. Select Manage Your Team
3. Select Manage Roles for the user you want to update
4. Click on the Giving Hearts Day Role and Save‍