1. DIRECTIONS
COUNCIL FOR VOCATIONAL SERVICES SOCIETY
October 7, 2010

2. Today’s Presenter
Zenia Wadhwani
Director, Program Development

4. CanadaHelps.org
What is CanadaHelps?
A public charitable foundation that provides accessible and
affordable online technology to both donors and charities.
For Charities
A cost-effective means of raising funds online.
For Donors
A one-stop-shop for giving.
CanadaHelps is a charity helping charities.

10. DID YOU KNOW? VIDEO

11. WEBSITES 101: IS YOUR WEBSITE COSTING
YOU DONORS?

12. What makes a great website is focus and
clarity of purpose.
A great website is unpretentious. It doesn’t
pretend to be what it is not.
It never wastes your time because it always gets
to the point.
A great website helps you to act.
~Gerry McGovern

13. What We’ll Cover
• What is Web Usability and Why is it Important?
• 3 Basic Principles of Web Usability
• Cheap and Easy Usability Testing
• The Value of Web Stats
• A Few Extra Notes
• Resources

14. What is Web Usability and
Why is it Important?

15. How Do Supporters Find You?

16. A visitor who is satisfied
with their experience
with a nonprofit
website is
49%
more likely to give than
one who was
dissatisfied with the
overall experience

17. Web Usability
The ease of use and visual design of your website.

18. Why is it Important?
• Good websites…
• Are inviting
• Are easy to navigate
• Offer valuable information
• Are not distracting or confusing
• Don’t drive people away
• Are compelling
• Make giving easy
• Will be visited again
• Are liked

19. The Return on Investment
• More engagement from users
• Increase credibility
• Get better media coverage
• Gain more support for your cause
• Increase donations

20. 3 Basic Principles of Web Usability

21. 1. Appearance

23. Make Text Easy to Read
• Use a standard font and proper size
• Use proper contrast
• Use proper caps
• Best readability is dark on light (like black on white)

25. Whitespace

26. Visual Consistency

27. 2. Functionality

28. Website Conventions
Banner
Navigation
Navigation
Content Body
Contact & Misc Information

29. Website Conventions Applied
Banner
Navigation
Navigation
Content Body
Contact and Misc. Information

30. Avoid Too Much Scrolling
• Keep it narrow
• Sideways scrolling is uncommon
… and annoying!

31. Self-Explanatory Choices
Culinary Delights Cuisine Options Food Menu Menu
Career Services Employment Opportunities Job Openings Jobs
Organization Information More Information About Us About Us
Give Us Your Time Volunteer Opportunities Volunteer

32. Breadcrumb Navigation
User knows:
• Where they came from
• Where they are
• Where they can go
Home is only one click away.

33. Links
Check for:
• Dead links
• Misguided links
• Imposter links
• Hidden links
• Logo links

34. The Back Button

35. Speed
• Make your pages load quickly
• Limit use of large pictures
• Interactive media can slow connection

36. 3. Content & Placement

37. Writing for the Web
• Web writing is concise
• Keep paragraphs short and use bullet points
• Bold important points, but sparingly

39. • Homepage should show your
most important parts
• What goes “above the fold”?
• Are you making it easy for
supporters to give?

40. Page Organization
Heading
Picture
Content. More Content.
Some more content. A little
more content. And that’s
about it.
• A separate page for each section
• Headlines are key
• Pictures to compliment topic

41. Show What You Do Clearly
• Easy to see and
understand
• Make it easy to
remember!

42. Where’s your
button?

43. 1 in 5
visitors to a nonprofit
website go specifically
to make a donation

44. • Put your Donate
Now button on
every page.
• Encourage monthly
giving.

45. Show How People Can Get Involved
• Donate to your cause
• Volunteer their time or skills
• Share your story with their network
• Make your calls to action very prominent

46. Salvation army example

47. Make it Easy to Contact You
Banner
Navigation
Navigation
Content Body
Contact Information

48. X X X
We! We! We!
When designing or improving
a website, think about the
USER first!

49. Cheap and Easy Usability Testing

50. Testing Questions
1. Is it obvious what this site is about?
2. Is it easy to find what I need?
3. Are the most important things visible when I arrive?

51. DIY Usability Testing
Step 1: Find Testers
• Find 3-5 people who have some time (~30 minutes) to have a
look at your website
• Testers should not already be familiar with your site (no staff,
Board or regular volunteers)
• Testers should be representative of your usual website users

52. DIY Usability Testing
Step 2: Using your site
• Ask testers to comment as they navigate your site (to
give you insight about their choices)
• Ask testers to accomplish your main calls of action
 Sign up for your newsletter
 Click your Donate Now! Button
 Find and apply for volunteer opportunities
 Other ways they can get involved (buy tickets,
buy products, join a group etc…)
 Find general information about your
organization’s mission and mandate
 Contact your organization

53. DIY Usability Testing
Step 3: Observe
• Take note of:
• How long each step takes to complete
• Tester confusion at any point
• Frustration
• Ease of use
• Work with your web team to have the main
issues and frustrations address
• Repeat your usability testing whenever you
make major changes to your site

54. Survey Your Users
• Make a checklist that rates your website
• Free online surveys (www.surveymonkey.com)
• Put a link on your site
• Put it in your newsletter
• Try to get everyone to do it, even those who know you well

55. Check Out Other Charity Websites

56. The Value of Web Stats

57. Why Are Web Stats Important?
• Understand your users
• Know what people do on your site
• Provides tangible feedback about your site
• Leaves the guessing out of what works

58. Visitors
Gain insights about the visitors of your website
• Unique visitors
• First time vs. repeat visitors
• Visitor loyalty
• Length of visit
• Browsers
• Geographic profile & language

59. Content
• Top content
• Top landing pages
• Top exit pages

60. Traffic Sources
• Direct traffic: typed your address in a browser
• Referring sites:
• Know your top referring sites
• Are your ads working?
• Search Engines
• Keywords

61. Google Analytics
• Free service
• Comprehensive feature set
• Go to http://www.google.com/analytics/

62. Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
• Best seller
• Easy to read
• Great content
• Lots of examples
• Great section on Do-It-
Yourself Usability Testing and
Resources

63. A Few Extra Notes

64. Content Management System
• Easier to create, edit and publish content
• Reduction of costs and calls to the IT department or company
• Fresher content
• Share the workload
• Easy to use; no need to learn code
• Consistency of design preserved
• Navigation automatically adjusted
• Access from anywhere

65. Search Engine Optimization
Sear Engine Marketing
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process
of improving the visibility of a website or a web
page in search engines via the "natural" or un-
paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.
Other forms of search engine marketing (SEM)
target paid listings. In general, the earlier (or
higher on the page), and more frequently a site
appears in the search results list, the more
visitors it will receive from the search engine.
Stolen from Wikipedia

66. Secure Online Donations
What are you doing to keep donor information safe?
If you are collecting credit card information on your website, it’s
important to know about PCI DSS – Payment Card Industry Data
Security Standards - a set of comprehensive requirements for
enhancing payment account data security on a global basis.
The PCI DSS is a multifaceted security standard that includes
requirements for security management, policies, procedures,
network architecture, software design and other critical
protective measures. This comprehensive standard is intended to
help organizations proactively protect customer account data.

67. Your Turn

68. STRETCH BREAK

69. PHILANTHROPY 2.0

70. What We’ll Cover
• Web 1.0 & Web 2.0
• Some Web 2.0 Tools
• YouTube
• Flickr
• Blogs
• Twitter
• Social Networking
• Giving Pages
• Case Study: Apathy is Boring
• Principles of Social Media
• Debunking Web 2.0 Myths

71. Web 1.0 and Web 2.0

72. Web 1.0
• The ability to disseminate information
electronically: to display and promote an
organization, person, or idea on the internet
• Web 1.0 facilitates one-way transactions
• Fundamentally important for every website

75. Web 1.0 Fundamentals
• Solid and intuitive website design
• Website usability
• Short and simple messaging
• Compelling stories and e-newsletters
• Fresh and up-to-date information

76. Web 2.0
• Richer user experience
• interaction, engagement,
conversation, collaboration,
connections
• Encourages & allows for two-way
communication
• users now being talked WITH
instead of AT
• User-generated content

79. The Difference Between Web 1.0 & Web 2.0
Few Many
Many Many
Web 1.0 was about publishing and transactions.
Web 2.0 is about networks and community.

82. Some Web 2.0 Tools

83. YouTube
• Provides a platform for video content
• Media outlet + social networking site
• Nonprofit program now available in Canada
• Interesting YouTube Stats:
• Exceeds 2 billion views a day worldwide
• 24 hours of video uploaded every minute
• 51% of users visit weekly

86. YouTube Tips
• You don’t have to be Martin Scorsese
• Check out www.animoto.com to create
compelling video quickly and easily!
• Keep it short and sweet
• Share your video: embed into your
website/blog, email the unique URL to
supporters and friends
• Connect with your viewers. Ask for
feedback!

87. Flickr
• Photo sharing website
• Online community platform
• Photo repository
• Photo search engine
• Includes various photo
related tools
• Over 4 billion images as of
October 2009

89. Flickr Tips
• Encourage people to take photos
• Tag and title strategically
• Interact with users
• Make use of the tools on Flickr
• Create a group for your specific event
or contest

90. Blogs
• Blend of “web log”
• Online journals
• Focus on a particular
subject, organization
• Interactive; allow for
comments to be made
• An alternative
newsletter

92. Blogging Tips
• The best blogs create a sense of community
and commitment to a cause
• Use your blog to tell your charity’s story
• Make it personal
• Reply to comments you receive – listen and
learn!
• Offer an RSS feed

93. Twitter
• Free micro-blogging tool that lets you share short (up to 140
characters) updates with people
• Similar to instant messaging, but opens up conversations to
a wider audience
Twitter = Instant Messaging + Blogging
Source: www.johnhaydon.com

94. Use Twitter To…
• Make connections
• Gather support
• Educate followers
• Add personality to your organization
• Ask/answer questions
• Communicate quickly
• Show appreciation

96. Twitter Tips
• Balance promotion & conversation
• Follow people
• Be real
• Use Twitter to monitor conversations
• Be generous: reply & re-tweet
• Use a Twitter tool like HootSuite to
manage tweets

97. Social Networking
• The practice of
expanding one’s network
by making connections
through individuals.
• Allows members to
interact, discuss, share
quickly & easily

98. The Connections & Impact
Communicates in
multiple ways
CHARITY
DONOR
NETWORK
DONOR
More donors align to cause; Initiates a campaign
more funds raised

99. 34%
Percentage of offline donors
who would urge others to
support the same cause:
Percentage of online donors
who would urge others to
support the same cause: 59%

101. Social Networking Tips
• Start with one tool at a time
• Keep your information up-to-date
• Share your stories
• Build your brand
• Engage, encourage, empower
• Remember it’s a conversation –
listening is just as important as
talking
• Promote the page

102. CanadaHelps GivingPages
• Micro-giving sites
• Allows individuals to raise funds
for their charity or charities of
choice
• Allows charities to create a
unique space to highlight specific
fundraising campaigns (i.e.
pledge events)
• Anyone can create and manage
one

105. GivingPages Tips
• Give your donors specific ideas, i.e.
wedding registry, birthdays,
host/hostess gifts, in memoriam
• Highlight a specific project or campaign
your charity is running; and talk about
IMPACT
• Run a fundraising contest through
GivingPages
• Share the unique URL with your
network of supporters in all your
communications, e.g., email signature
• Ask local businesses to start up a
fundraising campaign for you

106. Case Study:

113. Principles of Social Media

114. Be Real
• Leave room for personality
• Most online communities expect a less formal
tone

115. It’s a Conversation
• Balance self-promotion with listening
• Social media is about personal connections
• Engage with your fans, followers and supporters

116. Timeliness is Key
• Communications must be timely
• Quick responses are indications of an active
organization and a responsible one

117. Encourage Participation
• Encourage your supporters to take action
• Provide opportunities to engage online and off

118. Measure Results
• Track the effectiveness of your social media presence
• Followers
• Conversations
• Conversions (volunteers, donations, support)
• Remember it’s not all about the numbers – focus on quality vs.
quantity

119. Tell Stories
• Personal stories make good content and build
personal connections
• Thought-provoking content will get shared more
often

120. Let Go!
• You can’t control the message on social media tools
• Provide good/clear messaging, interesting stories and
engage with supporters
• Join the conversation

121. Set Some Boundaries
• Develop a set of social media policies for your
organization
• Focus on effective use of the tools, not controlling
online activities
• Set clear expectations of employees and volunteers

122. Integrate
• Include social media into your existing fundraising and
marketing plans
• Consider your online presence (website + social media)
as a communications channel

123. Debunking Web 2.0 Myths

124. “It’s expensive.”
• Basic accounts are free and really all you
need!
• Free blog tools:
www.blogger.com www.wordpress.com

125. “It’s only for young people.”
• “Young” is a relative term
• Almost everyone can get online!

126. Of all giving online:
15% From the ‘Greatest Generation’
Born 1901-1945
52% From Baby Boomers
Born 1946-1962
30% From Generation X
Born 1962-1980
The most significant characteristic
associated with online giving is higher
education.

127. “It’s hard to do.”
• It’s just a matter of time and practice.
• These tools are designed to be user-friendly!

128. “It’s only a fad.”
• Some tools may be a fad, but the concept behind
Web 2.0 is not
• Social networking and engaging your donor base will
never go out of style!

129. “I need to do it because
everyone else is.”
• Focus on Web 1.0 first
• Walk before you run

130. “I will lose all control.”
• Be prepared to give up some control
• Create solid messaging and trust it!

131. Your turn

132. MyCharityConnects.org
What is MyCharityConnects?
CanadaHelps' online resource centre for charities – a website dedicated to
connecting charities and nonprofits to the technologies they need to succeed.
What can I find on MyCharityConnects?
• Free online resources for charities
• Information about technology , Web 1.0, Web 2.0 & social media
• Video demonstrations
• Webinars (online seminars)
• 2009 Conference materials

133. UPCOMING WEBINARS
October 13 – The Networked NonProfit: Using Social Media to Accomplish More
With Less
October 27 – How Tweet It Is
November 10 – SEO, SEM and Analytics for NonProfits
November 24 – Everything Old is New Again: Getting Back to Fundraising
Fundamentals
December 8 – Technology - a Source of Frustration or Creativity for Your
Organization?
www.mycharityconnects.org

134. “A nonprofit can become a highly visible source of vision,
information, and shaping for donor generosity.
Donors are great people. But most of them are not experts in
the causes they support. They're looking to you to be expert,
to apply their generosity for maximum impact. Or even to
invent some new better way to change the world that they'd
never dreamed of.
The best nonprofits bring vision and expertise to the table,
then set donors free to help them make good things
happen.”
Donor Power Blog – September 4, 2008

135. Welcome to Giving Made Simple.