To increase online donations through your WordPress site, it’s essential to follow a few best practices.
By providing potential donors with the necessary information and eliminating obstacles, you can significantly enhance your fundraising efforts. This approach can help you manage rising expenses, broaden your outreach, and achieve your objectives.
Fortunately, implementing a few strategic changes to your WordPress donation forms can make a big difference. Today, I will share the key best practices for donation forms that can effectively increase contributions on your WordPress site.
Important Note:This article is a guest contribution by Thomas Griffin, the founder of Charitable and WP Simple Pay, two of the leading plugins for managing donations on WordPress. We regularly feature expert columns where WordPress professionals share their insights with our audience.
In this post, I will discuss several important topics. Here’s a quick overview so you can navigate to the section that interests you the most:
- Select a WordPress Plugin Specifically for Donations
- Ensure the Donation Form is Easily Accessible
- Clarify the Impact of Donations
- Simplify the Donation Form
- Enable Donors to Contribute Securely Using Their Preferred Payment Method
- Enable Donors to Select Predefined Donation Amounts
- Facilitate Recurring Donations
- Express Gratitude for Each Donation
- Simplify Sharing Your Donation Form
- Comprehensive Guides for Nonprofit Websites
1. Select a Donation-Specific WordPress Plugin
Given the complexities of optimizing a donation form for maximum conversions, my initial recommendation is to select a WordPress plugin specifically tailored for donations.
This choice will not only save you valuable time and effort, allowing you to concentrate on your mission, but these plugins are also meticulously designed to enhance conversions and increase your donations.
The top donation plugins seamlessly integrate with secure payment gateways to safeguard your donors and build their trust. They also provide essential features to implement the best practices I will discuss below.
For numerous organizations, WP Simple Pay stands out as an exceptional option. It is one of the leading credit card processing plugins for WordPress, featuring user-friendly donation tools, and its drag-and-drop form builder comes with pre-designed templates specifically crafted for donation pages.
Many organizations opt for a specialized donation and fundraising plugin for their WordPress site. I recommend Charitable, as it offers a wide range of features for collecting donations and managing comprehensive fundraising campaigns.
While there are free versions of these plugins to help you get started, you’ll need the premium options for advanced features like recurring donations. Plus, you won’t incur any transaction fees, allowing you to maximize the contributions you receive.
2. Ensure Your Donation Form is Easily Accessible
It’s essential to recognize that if your donation form is hard to find, you’ll struggle to receive donations. Prioritizing the visibility and accessibility of your donation form is crucial.
Start by adding your donation page to your WordPress navigation menu. For better visibility, consider adding a button in a contrasting color that draws attention.
Use clear and concise button text that conveys the action instantly. Popular choices include ‘Donate’, ‘Donate Now’, ‘Give Now’, and ‘Support Us’.
Additionally, include the donation form alongside other important links in the footer of your website.
During peak donation periods, consider enhancing the visibility of your donation form with a popup. For instance, nonprofits typically receive 25% of their total online donations in December, making it an excellent time for a popup marketing initiative.
Implementing a well-designed popup to highlight your donation form during key times of the year can increase conversion rates by up to 250%.
Before integrating a popup on your website, I suggest reviewing our team’s valuable tips for nonprofits to enhance year-end fundraising through popups.
3. Clarify the Impact of Donations
Once a potential donor reaches your donation page, it’s crucial to capture their interest by detailing how their contribution will make a meaningful impact. Providing specific information can help reassure donors and build their trust.
Research indicates that donors prefer to understand how their contributions will be utilized, with 63% of millennials researching organizations prior to donating. Yet, only 4% of donation pages clarify the allocation of funds.
The UNICEF donation page effectively communicates this by using a pie chart that breaks down the use of each dollar. It shows that 82 cents are allocated directly to programs, 13 cents are spent on raising awareness, and only 5 cents are directed towards administrative costs.
They not only present statistics but also engage readers through powerful storytelling and imagery, helping them connect emotionally and visualize the positive effects of their contributions.
Incorporating video content allows you to convey a wealth of information without cluttering your donation page. It can boost conversion rates by up to 86% and is easily accessible on mobile devices.
I often remind organizations that a donation page functions as a specialized landing page and should be optimized accordingly. It should begin with an engaging headline, include key information, and conclude with a strong call to action.
A landing page is a dedicated web page designed with a specific goal in mind. It guides visitors toward a single action, which is the page’s call to action (CTA).
John Turner – Co-Founder of SeedProd
That’s why I suggest you explore John Turner’s valuable insights on creating high-converting landing pages and incorporate these strategies into your donation page.
4. Simplify the Donation Form
Complicated forms can deter users. If a form appears too lengthy or demands excessive personal information, users may hesitate to complete it.
To enhance user experience, limit the fields on your donation form to essentials such as name, email address, and donation amount. Pre-fill as many fields as possible to streamline the completion process.
Consider offering an option for anonymous donations by making name and contact information fields optional. Assure donors that their personal data will remain confidential and not be shared with third parties.
For assistance in creating an effective and user-friendly donation form, refer to this comprehensive guide on designing donation forms for nonprofit organizations using WordPress.
When extensive information is necessary, implement a multi-page form with a progress bar, starting with simple questions. This approach helps users engage without feeling overwhelmed.
5. Enable Secure Donations Through Preferred Payment Methods
Donors may feel frustrated if their preferred payment method is not available. By minimizing friction and inconvenience, you can encourage them to confidently support your cause.
Fortunately, leading donation plugins seamlessly connect with secure payment processors like PayPal and Stripe. This capability allows you to provide various payment options, guarantee secure transactions, and foster trust among your donors.
By prominently displaying the accepted payment methods, you show that you respect your donors’ preferences and prioritize secure online transactions.
For instance, the UNICEF donation page clearly indicates that all contributions are safeguarded by SSL encryption and lists accepted payment methods such as credit cards, PayPal, and Google Pay.
To maximize flexibility, plugins like Charitable also enable donors to utilize offline payment options, including checks, bank transfers, and more.
6. Empower Donors to Select Predefined Donation Amounts
You may be surprised to discover that many first-time donors struggle to determine an appropriate donation amount. This uncertainty can lead to hesitation or even abandonment, where potential donors leave the page without completing their donation.
Providing a few recommended donation amounts simplifies the decision-making process, allowing users to easily select an amount on the form. Additionally, you should enable donors who have a specific amount in mind to enter it manually.
It can also be beneficial to highlight the impact of donations of varying sizes.
For instance, the Oxfam donation page illustrates the impact of various donation amounts.
Similarly, the World Animal Protection donation form provides a breakdown of contributions.
When you select one of the suggested amounts, you are shown an image and a description detailing what that contribution can accomplish, such as covering the monthly veterinary expenses for a bear.
Offering suggested donation amounts can also lead to larger contributions. The Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Florida experienced a 400% increase in visitor center donations after they began recommending specific donation levels.
7. Enable Recurring Donations
Incorporating recurring donations into your form can transform a one-time gift into a reliable income source, ensuring steady funding for your ongoing projects.
This feature also simplifies the process for donors who prefer to contribute regularly, as any future donations they authorize will be processed automatically.
Let’s examine the figures. While the average donation for one-time gifts is $121, recurring donations average $25 per month. However, that $25 accumulates over time, resulting in an average of $287 in annual contributions from recurring donations.
Monthly recurring donations are more popular than weekly or annual contributions. Many donation forms simplify the process by providing options for one-time donations or ongoing monthly contributions.
The donation forms mentioned above demonstrate that choosing the monthly option can create a significant impact.
You can find detailed instructions on how to set this up in our comprehensive guide on creating a recurring donation form in WordPress.
8. Show Genuine Gratitude for the Donation
Personalized thank-you messages and confirmation emails help donors feel valued. Research indicates that first-time donors are 80% more likely to donate again if they receive a personalized acknowledgment.
Both WP Simple Pay and Charitable easily redirect users to a thank you page after a donation is made. This page allows you to express your gratitude and explain how the donor’s contribution will make a difference.
They also provide the option to send a thank you email.
In my experience, expressing gratitude in this way can quickly transform a one-time donor into a lifelong supporter. You can also use this opportunity to inform the donor about additional ways to support your organization, such as volunteering or subscribing to your newsletter.
9. Simplify Sharing Your Donation Form
One of the most effective ways for donors to support your organization after making a contribution is by sharing your donation form with their friends, family, and colleagues.
This encourages individuals within their network who share similar values to consider making a donation. Additionally, research indicates that each share can generate an extra 18% of the original gift amount.
The World Bicycle Relief organization effectively employs a comprehensive strategy to motivate donors to share their donation form.
Firstly, donors can choose to make a donation in honor of someone else. This option allows them to send an e-card or a physical card to that individual, which may inspire the recipient to match the donation.
They also provide a feature to search for your employer to check if they have a matching gift policy in place, which could potentially double the donation amount.
Additionally, they encourage donors to amplify their impact by utilizing social share buttons.
Lastly, at the bottom of the thank you page, they offer a fourth option: fundraising. Donor-driven campaigns are highly effective, enabling nonprofits to attract an average of 300 new donors.
For more information on how to implement this, refer to this guide on creating peer-to-peer fundraising in WordPress.
Comprehensive Guides on Nonprofit Websites
We hope this article has provided you with valuable insights into effective donation form strategies to increase contributions on your WordPress site. Additionally, you may find these related resources for nonprofit websites helpful:
- Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Peer-to-Peer Fundraising in WordPress
- Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Recurring Donation Form in WordPress
- How to Successfully Raise Funds with Crowdfunding in WordPress
- Top Recommended Crowdfunding Plugins for WordPress
- Expert Picks: Best WordPress Plugins for Nonprofit Organizations
- How to Accept Donations from International Donors in WordPress
- Create a Donor Portal in WordPress in Just 15 Minutes
- Essential Nonprofit Marketing Statistics and Insights You Need to Know
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