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Donation Pages

Your donation page is the critical bridge to get supporters over the finish line of making a donation. It needs to be clear, simple, and compelling. Read on for best practices in crafting your donation page.


Best Practices

You should make it easy to get to your donation page from anywhere else on the website. An eye-catching “donate now” button is a great option. Keep the donation process to one click from the form. Requiring donors to progress through multiple pages to give will cause donation drop-offs. On the same note, keep the number of required fields to a minimum. People don’t like to give away too much information or spend too much time filling out forms. Collect only the fields you must have to follow up with a donor and rely on future stewardship communications to collect any deeper information.

Offer recurring giving and consider making it the pre-selected option. Suggesting gift amounts and pre-selecting the one you’d like most donors to choose has also been shown to increase average gift size. And finally, ensure that you have a strong plan for after the donation. Think strategically about your thank you/confirmation page and confirmation email. Let the donor know how their funds will be used, invite them to an upcoming event, share volunteer opportunities, or ask them to share about their support on social media. Every touch is an opportunity to further your relationship and retain your donor.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when evaluating your donation page:

• Does it make it clear why a supporter should donate?
• How many clicks did it take to give?
• How does the form look and function on mobile?
• Is monthly giving an option? Is it auto selected?
• Does the form nudge a supporter to give more?
• Was contact information for the organization made available?
• Was the thank you page well designed and celebratory?


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