Last week, The Agitator extolled the virtues of usability testing for nonprofit websites, specifically with regard to online fundraising effectiveness. Our inspiration was a substantial study with this focus by Jakob Nielsen, the guru of web design.

In case you need further convincing, here’s how two of our readers responded:

From Jay Love, eTapestry:

"Tom, your thoughts on usability testing are right on the mark.  So often NPO sites seem to go out of their way to make the key objectives of the site difficult.  Among the common objectives mishandled in some manner is collecting email addresses and more importantly the permission OK to communicate on a regular basis.   Building a relationship will be key, as we all know, to obtaining ONGOING financial support.

We learned even more regarding usability testing through our partnership with PayPal for the creation of BlackbaudNow.  We used PayPal’s usability lab to reveal much more than we imagined with regard to how the average citizen reacts to a web site.   As with so many things in life, the subtle tiny differences add up to huge changes in the successful achievement of objectives.   I highly endorse usability testing.  You never know if the person who opts out before leaving their email address and permission to contact them is you next legacy donor!"

From Steve MacLaughlin, Blackbaud

"Usability testing is one of the more under utilized things you can do to improve your online results. It doesn’t require a lot of resources or costs to do even basic testing. I highly recommend Steve Krug’s book "Don’t Make Me Think" which is written for a non-technical audience.

The Nielsen report covers a lot more than just online donations. It really gives a good breakdown of some nonprofit website design best practices.

Some good nuggets in the report include:

• Fixing a process with even minor usability problems might increase donations by 10%.
• The most frequently mentioned turnoffs was a lack of or unclear description of an organization’s mission, goals, objectives, or work.
• Confirmation pages are critical on both e-commerce and donation sites. However, non-profit and charity sites must include a confirmation page as part of the donation process, which should include a receipt for tax purposes. Additionally, a receipt should be emailed to the address provided during the donation process.
• Some charities, especially those that support medical research, treatment, and support, should allow users to specify an individual to make their donation in honor or memory of.
• On the confirmation page, thank users for their donation. It doesn’t need to be elaborate, but a simple recognition is appreciated. Also, it’s nice to reiterate how the money will be used.

The report should pay for itself if you try just a few of the recommendations."

‘Nuff said?

Tom