ten tips to improve your website

10 Tips for Improving your Website

May 25, 2011

The 2011 MyCharityConnects Webinar Series is generously supported by Direct Energy.

Today’s Presenter

Amy Huynh

Marketing & Communications Coordinator

reminders You can hear us, but we can’t hear you

Presentation slides will be available on www.mycharityconnects.org/pastwebinars

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What is CanadaHelps?

A public charitable foundation that provides accessible and affordable online technology to both donors and charities.

For Charities

A cost-effective means of raising funds online.

For Donors

A one-stop-shop for giving.

CanadaHelps is a charity helping charities.

CanadaHelps is giving made simple.

Your website is one of your most important communications tools

How much thoughtful attention is your website getting on a regular basis?

Growth in Online Giving

Online Giving Statistics

72 % of Canadians plan to donate online this year

Website Users

They don’t read

They poke at information

They’re busy, and in a hurry

They’re impatient

They will leave as quickly as they came They’re easily frustrated

#1 PUT YOUR AUDIENCE FIRST

Define Your Target Audiences

Solve Problems • What you do

• How you do it

• How you spend your money

• How to get in touch

#2 GET ORGANIZED

Site Structure & Navigation

Plan a clear, easy-to-understand menu & content structure

Menu Choices

• Don’t use ambiguous headings

• Give your visitors clear choices

Menu Food Menu Cuisine Options Culinary Delights

Jobs Job Openings Employment Opportunities Career Services

About Us More Information About Us Organization Information

Volunteer Volunteer Opportunities How to Volunteer With Us

Donate How to Make a Donation How to Make a Gift to Your Community

Don’t hide your stories

#3 DESIGN WITH YOUR AUDIENCE IN MIND

Make Text Easy to Read

• Use a standard font and proper size

• Use proper contrast

• Best readability is dark on light (like black on white)

Can you read this?

How about this one?

cAn yOu rEaD tHiS??

This is more like it.

White Space

• Empty space

• Too many things may look intimidating

Website Conventions Are Your Friends

• There are patterns that have become conventions

Navigatio

n

Navigation

Content Body

Banner

Contact & Misc Information

Follow Website Conventions

Navigatio

n

Navigation

Content Body

Banner

Contact and Misc. Information

Calls to Action

• Make use of prime real

estate

• Put calls to action “above the fold”

Use graphics thoughtfully

#4 GOOD WEBSITE CONTENT

Concise text

Scannable layout

Avoid jargon

#5 MAKE IT EASY TO CONTACT & CONNECT

#6 KEEP UP TO DATE

• Avoid having out of date information on your site

#7 DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR SITE

Good search engine rank results from:

• Good content

• Clear site structure

• External links

SEO 201

• Create a list of desired keywords

• Use a keyword search tool to verify

– Number of monthly searches

– Competition

• Add keywords to your html files

• Create better content to correspond to those keywords

WARNING: You can’t fake it!

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

#8 TRACK YOUR STATS

Traffic Sources

• Direct traffic: typed your address in a browser

• Referring sites:

– Know your top referring sites

– Are your ads working?

• Search Engines

– Keywords

Why Are Web Stats Important?

• Understand your users

• Know what people do on your site

• Tangible feedback about your site

• Leaves the guessing out of what works

Visitors

Gain insights about the visitors of your website

• Unique visitors

• First time vs. repeat visitors

• Browsers & devices

• Geographic profile & language

Content

• Top content

• Top landing pages

• Top exit pages

#9 USABILITY TESTING

http://www.cadfanatic.com/2009/08/solidworks-usability-testing/

Testing Questions

1. Is it obvious what this site is about?

2. Is it easy to find what I need?

3. Are the most important things visible when I arrive?

DIY Usability Testing Step 1: Find Testers

• Find 3-5 people who have some time to have a look at your website

• Testers should not already be familiar with your site

Step 2: Using your site

• Ask testers to comment as they navigate your site (to give you insight about their choices)

• Ask testers to accomplish your main calls of action

Sign up for your newsletter

Click your Donate Now! Button

Find and apply for volunteer opportunities

Other ways they can get involved (buy tickets, buy products, join a group etc…)

Find general information about your organization’s mission and mandate

Contact your organization

Step 3: Observe

• Take note of:

• How long each step takes to complete

• Tester confusion at any point

• Frustration

• Ease of use

#10 DON’T WAIT FOR A REDESIGN

BONUS TIP: INTEGRATE

ABOUT MYCHARITYCONNECTS

free online resources Information about technology

Video demonstrations

More webinars

Past webinar recordings & slides

Learning opportunities

Events across the country

www.mycharityconnects.org

• Join us for thought-provoking keynotes, practical how-to workshops and plenty of chances to learn from other non-profits about what works online… and what doesn’t!

• A partner in Net Change Week

MyCharityConnects Conference 2011

JUNE 6 – 7 | MaRS Centre, Toronto

www.mycharityconnects.org/2011Conference

Upcoming Webinars

• June 15 – Getting the Most From your MyCharity Account & Reports

• June 29 – Know Your Website: An Intro to Google Analytics

• July 20 – YouTube’s NonProfit Program & The Fundamentals of Video Storytelling

• August 17 – Orientation for Newly Registered Charities with CanadaHelps

www.mycharityconnects.org/webinars

Keep in touch!

info@canadahelps.org

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www.slideshare.net/MyCharityConnects

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