UX stands short for user experience. However, the term specifically implies a user’s experience with a digital product, like a website or a mobile application. UX involves the implementation of correct design principles to make your digital interface intuitive and easy to use. But, at the same time, UX does not restrict itself to the domain of visual design. It involves research and lots of testing to decide upon the most visually appealing and engaging digital interface.
UX can have its impact on your website in two ways. If you do not get your UX right, you may lose out on engagement, traffic, and the quality of your interactions with your users. If done right, nonprofits can double their impact with an appropriately devised user experience structure.
How Does Badly Implemented UX Affect Your Site?
If the user experience you have to offer to your site visitors is not up to par, it can deal a huge blow to your NGO. The average time visitors spend on your pages will reduce. They will visit fewer pages per session. The volume of return traffic will decline, and so will your conversions. The conversions you lose can range from filling out the subscription form to making the donation.
Like any website, some pages on a nonprofit’s website are more important and vital than the others. The About page, for instance, gives the users a thorough explanation of what it is that you do, which motivates users to get involved. A donation page is arguable the most important page of a nonprofit website, as it funnels in the funds they need to operate. A bad user experience can lead to a user having trouble finding these pages or taking the right action once they’ve found them.
For instance, if a user lands on your website but has to click through every page to find the donate button, the chances of them donating will significantly reduce. If a user goes to your Impact page expecting to see some tangible outcomes of your work but instead sees a library of dense research articles, they’re unlikely to stay on the page and read about the ways in which they can contribute to changing the world.
It is not that these gaps between expectations and reality are unbridgeable. There are ways to make your website UX better. Once you have improved the UX of your site, multiple benefits await you.
How Does an Improved UX Impact Your Site?
An improved UX originates from understanding your customers better. You can leverage tools such as surveys, stakeholder interviews, usability reviews, focus groups, competitor benchmarking, and user interviews to understand what motivates your users and what engages them the most. Since you attempt to reach the core of their psyche, improved UX leads to more organic actions, such as voluntary donations and sign-ups. Your visitors feel more inspired to participate in the activity you have to offer.
Users often bounce off from a page because it makes them confused. A well-thought-out UX strategy declutters your page. Neat and intuitive visual instructions on the page guide and help your visitors to narrow down on their goals and take the action you desire.
Improved UX also means addressing various donor personas and diverse user journeys. Not every potential donor has the same motivation. Multiple landing pages help address the needs of a diverse range of audiences. It results in an expansion of your donor base.
Many times nonprofits concentrate too much on the donation page. While getting contributions is a highly crucial objective, it should not appear as the central theme of your website. A properly carried out UX design helps you bring in the right balance. Getting your visitor inspired to donate is a culmination of many steps.
You need to educate them about your mission, and then you need to clearly show them the tangible impact your mission has. For supporters who need to be convinced to donate, this flow is necessary before asking for a donation. A carefully planned UX helps you achieve this. It makes each page worth exploring with well-designed information architecture. Not only does it help you bring more donations, but it also improves the reputation of your brand.
UX that gives importance to letting people know the cause you are fighting for and the history around it results in more loyal donors. Through an impactful design, successful UX strategies create an emotional bond. Apart from fetching more donations, it also helps in getting more social shares, subscriptions, and volunteering time.
Everything You Need on Your Nonprofit’s Website