Why your website may not be getting the job done

Overall, the biggest piece to take away here is: keep your website consistent. Layouts can change, but the overall design should remain the same. Same font, same colors, same header/content layout, etc. It creates a strong sense of who your organization is. The consistent branding across your website shows a visitor that you are a legitimate website, time and effort has gone into your site, and you are responsible. Within the design, don't forget to keep all pages easily accessible. Especially pages where you are calling people to act (donate, contact, sign up, etc). 

Your images are sometimes “louder” than the text (in the best way possible)!  Having real life images across your site is highly effective. Let's face it! When we're searching for something online, most times we are spending a significant amount of it seeing who the people are to answer the simple questions: would we fit in? do they do the same things I like? Action shots read way better than people posing for the camera. It shows that these things really happen, and are not staged. Photos should be up to date, and relevant to the content on the page, as well as current times. For example, during Covid, we’ve heard that those with updated pictures to reflect the times – masks, Zoom, etc. – had more people reaching out to get involved than those who don't have any updated photos easily found.

Although photos are way more digestible than content a lot of the times, your content is still super important. Content should be relevant. If you have a page where you are introducing yourself to a visitor, keep it simple and on track. You can link a reader to the next page where you'd like them to go, or add a plug-in with events at the bottom of your page. Get creative! Be sure to always, always update content. Outdated content can drive someone away within seconds of arriving! 

Your website can be the most beautiful website out there, but if it is hard for users to navigate, it is NOT doing its job. So, what exactly is user-friendliness and what can you do to ensure that your site is in fact user-friendly? When a website is user-friendly, it really just means what the name is. Your website is friendly to your users – no matter how technologically gifted they are or aren't. It doesn't stress them out, and they can find everything they need easily, and they can leave with peace of mind. The big areas where most websites see their users having a hard time are below. 

• Making information and pages easily available 
  • Use the topmost bars of your website. Things like your next big event or a donate button are great ways to utilize this.
  • Your main navigation should highlight your biggest “services”  – the “who we are”, “what we do”, “join us”, etc.
    
• Ensuring forms are easy to use (and bug-free)
  • Test your forms before you go live. We cannot stress this one enough! Users will try a form once or twice without getting rightfully annoyed. By you making sure the form is working the way you want it to helps alleviate stress on both your’s and your user’s end. There will always be a bug or two that is out of your control, so don't panic, but by ensuring that everything else is in place, you will see much higher conversion rates on your forms. 
• Allowing people to get in touch with you
  • The reality is, if people cannot easily find a way to get in touch with you, they will question your credibility. Because why should they be giving you personal information if they don't even know who you are? Makes sense, doesn't it? Having contact information also creates transparency, which results in comfort and embracing.  And, as readily available as your information is, your answer to their reaching out should be just as quick!