HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR DONATION PAGE?

Discover 19 elements of your donation page that you can test, optimize, and improve to raise more money online.

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OPTIMIZE YOUR DONATION PAGE

Every nonprofit that accepts online donations has a general donation page. But there are so many best practices floating around that it can be hard to identify exactly how to craft your donation page.

How long should it be?
Should I use a video?
How much information is too much to ask for?
Should I use a gift array?

Because the motivation of your donors on these pages varies so significantly, we can't assume that every visitor is ready to donate. And it's nearly impossible to guess why they are considering a donation.

Taking these factors into account, we've analyzed our entire research library to create this interactive guide outlining the proven elements and tactics we have discovered that will help you improve conversion rates on your donation page in order to acquire more donors and grow your revenue.

19 ELEMENTS OF A GENERAL DONATION PAGE

1HEADER
2DESIGN
3HEADLINE
4BACKGROUND IMAGE
5INTRO COPY
6MAIN IMAGE
7VIDEO
8BODY COPY
9IN-LINE REVIEWS
10IN-LINE PREMIUMS
11CALL-TO-ACTION COPY
12GIFT ARRAY
13GIFT ARRAY PRESENTATION
14GIFT TYPE
15FORM FIELD DESIGN
16FORM FIELDS
17aCREDIT CARD FIELDS
17bALTERNATE PAYMENT METHODS
18CALL-TO-ACTION BUTTON AREA
19VERIFICATION / CONFIRMATION PAGES

[General donation request with broad reasoning headline]

When you donate to [organization name]

This is copy that helps the person understand the effect of their donations. You want to help them understand what that means, but can't go into too much detail:

Bullets are ok on this page type
Reasons or evidentials should be OK here = this is a resource page
People that arrive to this page have intention, as it NOT something that has interrupted them
So the easier we make it to process, the easier it is for them to accomplish their mission to donate

This is copy that describes the premium they get for donating above a certain amount.

Take a sentence, or two, and describe what this premium is, and what value they can expect from it. Also touch on how this premium is related to your values and your mission.

Premium image

Yes! I want to [support word][benefit others experience from organization]

2. Enter Your Information (It's Secure)

Credit CardACH Bank Account

Make My One-Time $50 Gift

Your gift is going to help impact [this specific change] that we already talked about. This is just a small reinforcement.

1

Header

Simple with no navigation and no donate button.

Eliminate header
Exp. #4903 - 195% Increase in donations View the experiment
Exp. #991 - 25% Increase in donations, 3% increase in average gift. View the experiment

Donate short-cut button
Exp. # 2107 - 28.2% decrease in donations, 43% decrease in average gift. View the experiment
Exp. #1547 - 18% decrease in average gift size. View the experiment

2

Design elements

Avoid over-investing in design, and ensure text is readable.

Adding extra design elements
Exp. #5641, 2161, 4367 - No difference in donations. View the experiment

Hard-to-read text
Exp. #1469 - 67.6% decrease in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #1469 - 54.1% decrease in average gift size. View the experiment

3

Headline

Clearly spell out the specific effect of someone’s donation.

Exp. # 4164 - 21.2% increase in donations. View the experiment

4

Background Image

If using one, ensure it is related to your value proposition.

Exp. #2569 - 19.8% increase in donations using a mission related image. View the experiment
Exp. #2013 - 53.1% increase in donations using a value proposition related image. View the experiment

5

Intro Copy

Introduce your general value proposition here. Communicate clearly and concisely.

Add value prop (when there is none)
Exp. #111 - 258% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #900 - 28% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. # 6623 - 150% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #1780 - 186% increase in donations. View the experiment

Clear and concise
Exp. #2023 - 27.4% increase in donations. View the experiment

6

Main Image

No image needed.

Eliminate header
Exp. #3970 - 203% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #1985 - 342% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #1947 - No difference. View the experiment

7

Video

Avoid it.

Exp. #5827 - 560% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #3970 - 203% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #1985 - 342% increase in donations. View the experiment

8

Body Copy

Stick to a concise, general, and bulleted message. Avoid excessive explanation copy and narrative.

Focus
Exp. #4467 - 43.8% increase in donations using general copy. View the experiment

Formatting
Exp. #4537 - 23.1% increase in donations using concise copy. View the experiment

Excessive Explanation
Exp. #6192 - 66% decrease in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #3951 - 38.5% decrease in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #2503 - 30.6% decrease in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #5340 - No difference. View the experiment
Exp. #1956 - No difference. View the experiment

9

In-line Reviews

Use them cautiously.

Exp. #3397 - 48.5% decrease in donations.View the experiment

10

In-line Premiums

Describe it here, and use an image.

Exp. #2347 - 135.4% increase in donations.View the experiment

11

Call-to-action Copy

Provide a single call-to-action at the end of the body copy, reinforcing the impact of donating.

Eliminate header
Exp. #641 - 166.4% increase in donations.View the experiment
Exp. #4269 - 49.4% increase in donations.View the experiment

12

Gift Array

Test an enter-your-own dollar amount field if your average gift size is significantly larger in this channel compared to others (Important: Use a 4-5 option gift array if your average gift size is around or below other channels).

Using an open-field only with high avg gift
Exp. # 6700 - 125.9% increase in donations. View the experiment

13

Gift Array Presentation

If using an array, use big designed buttons, and do not use a premium upsell.

Use big designed buttons
Exp. #5612 - 22.9% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #1434 - 63.1% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #15 - 59.9% increase in donations.View the experiment

Avoid premium upsell language (typically in membership organizations)
Exp. #447 - 34.5% decrease in donations.View the experiment
Exp. #772 - 29.9% decrease in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #780 - 12.6% decrease in donations. View the experiment

14

Gift Type

Do not default or overemphasize a recurring gift.

Exp. #6750 - 20% increase in revenue per visitor. View the experiment
Exp. #245 - 5.5% increase in donations. 48.5% increase in average gift. View the experiment

15

Form Field Design

Arrange to reduce page length, add headers with numbering and clarity.

Add headers with numbering to clarify decision points.
Exp. #4638 - 12.5% increase in donations. View the experiment

Arrange and group form fields to reduce page length.
Exp. #1007 - 39.4% increase in donations.View the experiment

16

Form Fields:

Pre-populate with customer information and ensure phone is always optional.

Exp. #6086 - No difference when adding optional phone number.View the experiment
Exp. #2112 - 42.6% decrease in donations when requiring phone.View the experiment

17a

Credit Card Fields

Visually box out fields with a high contrast background and visible lock icon.

Exp. #5991 - 14.4% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #5755 - 9.5% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #6091 - No difference. View the experiment

17b

Alternate Payment Methods:

Use caution when adding payment options you can’t control (i.e. PayPal).

Exp. #867 - 65.3% decrease in donations when adding PayPal. 6.6% increase in average gift. View the experiment
Exp. #6509 - No difference when adding ApplePay. View the experiment

18

Call-to-action Button Area

Use credibility seals and reinforce impact of gift with brief copy.

Adding credibility icons
Exp. #4990 - 22% increase in donations. View the experiment

Add value reinforce text.
Exp. #1234 - 31.3% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #1053 - 31.3% increase in donations. View the experiment

19

Verification/Confirmation Pages

Eliminate them.

Exp. #3711 - 121.5% increase in donations. View the experiment
Exp. #3712 - 130.6% increase in donations. 19.5% increase in average gift. View the experiment

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ABOUT NEXTAFTER

NextAfter is a fundraising research lab and consultancy NextAfter is an online fundraising research lab and consultancy that works alongside nonprofits to develop research as to why their donors give and put those learnings into practice to help them reach more people, acquire more donors, and generate more dollars to fund their world-changing work.