Special Report: 10 Ways to Make Your Web Site ?Fundraising Friendly
2. Information architecture and navigation. Once you have your audience's attention, make sure you retain and respect it by making all pertinent information just one or two clicks away. How do you achieve that? Five easy ways:
? Semantics: Use words that are relevant and easy to recognize and understand, and that help reduce time spent on unsuccessful clicks and searches.
? Organization: Organize your navigation and page layout in a way that your audience would expect it versus laying it out the way your organization is structured internally.
? Depth: Try to keep your navigation to a maximum depth of three levels. Two is even better.
? Structure: Create a page flow that is logical, and ensure that each page follows a consistent layout structure throughout your Web site. Avoid creating one-off pages that defy the regular convention of your site.
? Bread crumbs: Give visitors a sense of orientation while navigating your Web site. Not every visitor enters your site via your homepage, so it's very important to give users the bearings to help them understand where they are on the site.
3. Call to action. In addition to providing intriguing content to your audience, the main purpose of your Web site is to get your users to take action. The best way to achieve this is to ensure that you actually ask them to do so by the use of context-sensitive calls to action. The most notable example of this is the "donate now" button. If your organization relies on donations as the primary form of funding, place your donate button in prominent places throughout your Web site.
Another great way to lead audiences to perform an action is to place relevant links in the form of "next steps" (e.g., get involved, attend this event, etc.) below your content on every page.
