-
Are you happy with your website?.......
Diligence is a website design agency specialising in designing websites for the charity and not for profit sector.
Over the years we have worked with many charities such as the Kent, Sussex and Surrey Air Ambulance, Autism Sussex
and Wisdom Hospice in Rochester.If you are a charity, ask yourself three simple questions:
- Are you happy with your website?
- Is it performing well enough for you?
- Is your current website provider giving you value for money?If the answer to any of these questions is 'no' perhaps its time you talked to Diligence.
Why not take a look at our Top Eight Tips for a great website?
-
Top Eight Tips for a great charity website
Make sure the site is user friendly
Focus on making sure visitors to your site have a positive experience and you're half way to a great site.
Use clear, concise and to-the-point plain English to help guide visitors through your site. Make sure the navigation is painless and logical. And make sure the content is easy to read - remembering that not all users will have 20/20 vision!
Adding clever widgets to your site such as sound, pop-ups and web counters are not really clever. Much as you may like them ... they irritate!
-
Top Eight Tips for a great charity website
Make it easy to donate
If you are looking to encourage donations through your website then you need to make it as easy as possible for people to do so!
The more barriers you put in place the less likely they are to donate. So make sure the signposts to donate are clear and highly visible.
Make sure too that you offer an easy way to donate - quick online payment methods encourage higher donations.
-
Top Eight Tips for a great charity website
Help them get in touch
Many people will look for your website to get your contact details - so don't frustrate them by tucking them away!
Make your phone number and email address stand out from the page - in fact, if possible, include them on every page.
And don't forget that all-important sign-up form. Emailing your supporters or donors requires them to have given you permission to do so. So, why not encourage them to sign up from your website?
-
Top Eight Tips for a great charity website
Sell your charity
Whilst it may be true that every picture tells a story, don't rely purely on images to sell your charity. Large images can annoy some visitors because of the time they take to download.
Use good benefit-led copy to paint the right picture but bear in mind that quality counts over quantity. Remember too that the search engines like copy too - so work hard on making sure you get your key words in!
-
Top Eight Tips for a great charity website
Keep it updated
There's nothing worse than looking for Latest News and seeing a report of an event held a year previously. It tells people that you don't care about your website.
If you don't have the resources or skills to keep your News Page updated - then don't have one.
A good site owner will refresh and update their site on a regular basis with good relevant and contemporary news and event information.
-
Top Eight Tips for a great charity website
Check your spelling!
When adding content don't just rely on your spell checker!
Bad grammar or spelling mistakes can jump out of a page and turn people off. So before you add your new content make sure it is proof read - and then double checked - before posting it to your site.
-
Top Eight Tips for a great charity website
Measure your success!
You won't know how well your site is performing unless you measure the traffic.
Hit counters are no good - counting hits is no substitute for good qualitative data. Analytic programmes are free - and programmes such as Google Analytics are not only free but easy to install and easy to understand. More important the data it provides you will help you plan your online strategy.
-
Top Eight Tips for a great charity website
Get help!
If you want a professional-looking website then consult the experts.
Nothing sells better than a good, well-presented website - and nothing is worse than a poorly presented website.
So, if you want the best - consult the experts and use their expertise.
