37 Must-Have Strategies to Better Engage Website Visitors, Part 1

For example, GirlEffect.org uses its entire home page to display a prominent message, with the option to skip to the main site underneath. Currently when you go to GirlEffect.org, up pops in large text: “THE WORLD COULD USE A GOOD KICK IN THE PANTS,” followed by a button to “AGREE” or a button to “DISAGREE.” It’s a great way to get its message across right from the get-go.

4. Make sure your website visitors know where you want them to go
Harkening back to No. 2, Kapin said you have to have a clear and intuitive navigation setup that moves website visitors along to the places you want them to go. She shared the example of Little Angels Needy Children & Orphan Project, which has a "WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!" section right on its homepage.

“Navigate people where they want to go but also where you want them to go,” Kapin said. “You want to have a clear path to the donate page and give people several ways they can donate — even by mail and phone.”

Manix added that Defenders of Wildlife launched a website redesign in April to add the options to join, renew, donate and adopt on every page of its website, making it clear that’s where it wants visitors to end up.

5. Use a prominent donate button
“Have it in the header, and make it really easy to find and easy to donate,” Reed said. “If people can’t find your donate button, they’re gone.”

Kapin added that she’s done a lot of testing with donate buttons and found that if you change the color of your donate button to make it stand out, it increases the amount of people who click on it. For instance, during the Obama campaign in 2008, a red donate button really worked well. Since, Kapin said, she has found that just a color contrast that’s different from the rest of the navigation on your site increases clicks on the donate button, for instance using a green donate button on a red background.