Nonprofit Websites in a Mobile First World

Website Strategies and Organization Goals, a Match Made on the Internet

Is your website communicating the goals of your organization? Does your website’s design enable your organization to meet its goals through a strategic plan and design?

Your website is your organization’s first impression for the vast majority of your potential donors, volunteers and clients. It is an opportunity to explain your mission and deliver your message. It is your chance to engage your supporters and inspire them to get involved with your organization. You have the opportunity to strategically present your goals and solicit support in achieving their success. Optimize your Ask. Refer to http://www.one.org/us/issues  for an example of a website that lays out the issues the organization addresses in a concise yet compelling manner.

Before you consider your website as a platform for outreach, advocacy and fundraising, consider whether your website is strategically aligned with the goals of your organization.

Mobile Strategies Aren’t Just About Phones

Build your site to display elegantly in a mobile first world that consists of both phones and tablets. According to CNN, in 2014 smartphones and tablets were used to access the internet more than desktop computers for the first time. Ensuring that your site is formatted for mobile is no longer an option, it is a necessity.

The following statistics from Blackbaud Idea Lab, drive home the significance of the mobile movement:

• 84% of nonprofit donation landing pages are not optimized for mobile
• 65% of nonprofits make donors click 3 or more times to give a donation (Example of a well-designed website donation page see Doctors Without Borders
• 62% of Generation Y donors would give by mobile phone
• 90% year-over-year increase in online giving on #GivingTuesday in 2013

And from Techsoup.org :

• 60% of mobile users expect the site to load in less than three seconds
• 80% of mobile users will leave a site if it isn’t optimized for mobile
• The percentage of donations made by mobile web browsers has grown 205% in the last 12 months

Website Analytics, What to Measure

There are several key performance indicators used to measure website activity. The most common measures are:

• Number of hits-number of requests for text, images and files server receives per page
• Number of visitors-number of visitors to the site or page
• Unique visitors-site visits by different users
• Number of page views-number of pages viewed while at the site
• Entry and exit pages-where entered the site and left from
• Referrers-external links used to access site
• Keyword Search-words audience uses to find your website
• Visitor Information-who visits, where they are from, etc…
• Conversion-tracks number of people who go from start to finish in a series of pages through the website

To draw on the wisdom of Edward Deming, you get what you measure. Ensure you are measuring activities that drive your goals. You should be using your website to strategically present your goals and solicit support in achieving their success.

We will go into more specifics about using mobile for outreach, advocacy and fundraising in my next blogs.