Blog
Laura Shewbridge

We are proud to support a number of clients from the charity sector at Coast Digital (and we often hold our own fundraising events and coffee mornings, it’s ok to eat mounds of cake when it’s for charity, right?), so we like to keep abreast of developments in digital, that are relevant to charities and not for profits.

Whether it be changes to Google Grants Pro, the imminent GDPR revolution or the new grants scheme from the Transformation Foundation, we strive to know every intricate detail.

The Transformation Foundation is a charity for charities, helping small and mid-size charities to develop their digital presence by providing a range of grants. They are now accepting applications for their latest website scheme.

Eligible charities can receive a grant of up to £18,000 to fund the design and build of a new website, which will be built by their technology partner.

Improving donations with a mobile optimised site

A charity’s website plays an important role in the service they deliver and donations they receive; ensuring the website is user friendly, easy to navigate and mobile optimised are vital considerations.

For example, studies have shown a dramatic increase in mobile traffic over the past five years and that

donors are 34% less likely to donate via a site that is not easy to navigate on a mobile device.

Understanding the needs of the user

We understand designing and building a new website is a major undertaking, involving considerable investment of both time and money. When seeking to establish a web presence that meets the needs of your users and the objectives of the charity, usability research plays a critical role.

When it comes to a new website, you need to ensure that users are at the forefront of your thinking. Through data review, user research and consideration of organisational objectives, you can take a more balanced approach to a redesign and achieve a site that delivers positive user experiences.

Working with the charity SurvivorsUK, we helped create a user experience for an audience based on user research and a compassionate approach to the sensitive subject matter. Our research and subsequent testing informed decisions around design, CMS and content.

The new SurvivorsUK website delivered their message – whilst providing the simplest user journey possible, to allow visitors to quickly find the vital help they required.

This invaluable insight can also be used to create practical persona profiles that attach your user types with tangible behaviours and actions. Personas can act as a constant point of reference in all projects, even placing them in the room while decisions are made over website designs or marketing strategy.

How to make your next website a success

If you are considering a redesign and need some help with writing a brief, we have produced a free guide How To Make Your Next Website A Success which offers some helpful advice: “The importance of considering your users and the questions you need to ask yourself.” Download your copy today.

More on this subject