Bag of Tricks

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Interactive Workshop: A Bag Of Tricks for Your Nonprofit Website

PRESENTED BY:KELLEY JARRETT, MARKET MANAGER – GUIDE CREATIVE (@KELJAR)JONO YOUNG, DESIGN PRINCIPAL – INTERACTIVE (@CHSWEB)

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HASHTAG THIS SESSION#BBDESIGN

FOLLOW US@KELJAR@CHSWEB

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Meet Jono

Meet Kelley

Meet Our Esteemed Facilitators/Panel

Who do we have out there with us today?

WELCOME!

What Goes Into a Successful Website?

Name one mistake you’ve seen an organization make on their website?

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• Review key elements that make nonprofit websites more effective

• Learn how to analyze a website and recognize these elements• Be able to identify opportunities for improvement • Empower you to assess your own site and make changes

WE’RE HERE TODAY TO…

Your Website is an EVOLUTION

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• Learn• Discuss• Assess• Present• Ask

HERE’S THE PLAN

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LEARN: TEN BEST PRACTICES

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TEN BEST PRACTICES

1. Resonate with Your Audiences

2. Have a Focused Homepage

3. Share Your Mission

4. Use Compelling Imagery

5. Ensure Ease in Navigation

6. Include Clear, Bold Calls to Action

7. Showcase Your Stewardship

8. Keep Your Content Fresh

9. Be Social

10. Provide a Personal Touch Through Multimedia

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“Your website does not exist as a boutique just to show off information about your organization. Instead, it’s actually a tool to mobilize your audience...”

- Raheel Gauba “Design for Good: 4 (More) Nonprofit Design Principles” Netwits Think Tank, 10

RESONATE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

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Focus on your audience needs- Who are your audience groups and who is most important?- What do they care about – need, goals and aspirations?- How do they interact with you on and off your website?

RESONATE WITH YOUR AUDIENCES

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Speak the right language

- Choose a key message and use it consistently

- Listen for feedback on what’s working and what’s not through social media, blogs and surveys

- Avoid jargon, too little or too much content

- Test!


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Meet users where they are

- In less than three years mobile will be the #1 way your audience will access your website … Are you ready?


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“The Web is a world of first impressions, and quick ones at that. Users form an opinion of a website within the first few seconds of loading it.”

“The Role of Design in The Kingdome of Content, www.smashingmagazine.com

HAVE A FOCUSED HOMEPAGE

- Jason Gross

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/

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Prioritize Content- Wireframes are key for visual hierarchy- Remember YOUR goals- Remember your AUDIENCE’S goals


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Pass the 3-second test- Is your homepage scannable, understandable, intuitive

in 3 seconds?


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“Design your website around your non-profit’s actions and purpose. Make the mission statement clear as day.”

“Non-Profit Web Design.”

SHARE YOUR MISSION

- Blake McCreary

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Show your story … visually- Every image, every link, every element should tell your

mission’s story.

SHARE YOUR MISSION

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Tell your story clearly & succinctly and make it actionable - Visual interpretation can mean many things – infographics,

typography, links, video, imagery, photography

SHARE YOUR MISSION

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“Regardless of what your content actually says, the design around it controls what the users see first and how their eyes move across the sections of the page.”

“The Role of Design in The Kingdome of Content, www.smashingmagazine.com

USE COMPELLING AND ENGAGING IMAGERY

- Jason Gross


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Engage with eye contact … Make a personal connection- Connect, speak and engage with a personal connection- Eye contact makes it feel as real as it is

USE COMPELLING AND ENGAGEMENT IMAGRY

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Show real stories of impact to gain credibility

USE COMPELLING IMAGERY

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USE COMPELLING IMAGERY

Match Imagery with your brand, mood and voice- Does quality, composition and candor of your imagery jive

with your user experience?

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“User-centric design has become a standard approach for successful and web design. After all, if users can’t use a feature, it might as well not exist.”

“10 Principles of Effective Web Design”, www.smashingmagazine.com

ENSURE EASE IN NAVIGATION

- Vitaly Friedman


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YOUR WEBSITE YOUR AUDIENCE

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Navigation Systems should be intuitive and precise- Provide multiple interaction paths- Ensure context for users who come in through search or

links- Does it take two clicks or less for key tasks?

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“Assuming that you’ve written a brilliantly persuasive page, it’s still next to worthless without a strong call to action…”

“Five Copywriting Errors That Can Ruin a Company’s Website,”

INCLUDE CLEAR, BOLD CALLS-TO-ACTION

- Brad Shorr

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INCLUDE CLEAR, BOLD CALLS TO ACTION

Remove all obstacles to action from anywhere- Provide a tangible to an intangible (eg. Please give $10

today Please give 10 meals to your community today)

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INCLUDE CLEAR, BOLD CALLS TO ACTION

Calls to action should be clear and compelling- Never say “click here”- Say for example “become a habitat volunteer today”

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“Stewardship comes down to being able to show donors how their dollars were used and what impact their contributions had…”

“What Is Stewardship for a Non-Profit?” www.eHow.com

SHOW STEWARDSHIP

- Cynthia Gomez

http://www.ehow.com/

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SHOWCASE YOUR STEWARDSHIP

60% of donors visit a nonprofit’s website before making a gift. - Show the impact (stats, infographics)- Be transparent (share your annual report)- Say “Thank you”

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“…You need to remember that the Internet is a dynamic place, and make sure your site is constantly changing as well.”

“Good Non Profit Website Design Principles #5 of 5,” blog.pathmakermarketing.com May 21, 2009

KEEP CONTENT FRESH

- Randall Mains

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KEEP YOUR CONTENT FRESH

Always have something new to share- Utilize automatic feeds- Add dates to content posted to the homepage

Timely Upcoming

Events

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KEEP YOUR CONTENT FRESH

Gather user-generated content to delegate and let others contribute.

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“Integrating the social experience into your organization’s web site will help promote the channel, engage supporters, and provide a constant source of dynamic content …”

“101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits: A Field Guide.” John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

BE SOCIAL

- Melanie Mathos & Chad Norman

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BE SOCIAL

Social media and viral sharing are highly valuable tools in contributing to web site traffic and brand exposure- Make it easy to connect, interact and contribute

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BE SOCIAL

Encourage Viral Sharing- Action Sharing- Integrate social activities everywhere

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“Many of today’s most successful websites are interactive, meaning they allow people to participate in the content in some way.

Randall Mains, Strategic Web Communication Principle #4: Interactivity” blog.pathmakermarketing.com

PROVIDE A PERSONAL TOUCH THROUGH MULTIMEDIA

- Randall Mains

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PROVIDE A PERSONAL TOUCH THROUGH MULTIMEDIA

Allow users to consume information in multiple ways- Your audiences’ preferences for consuming content varies, just

as their browsing and navigation styles do. Users want to consume information in various media channels and formats.

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TEN BEST PRACTICES









9. Be Social


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LET’S PRACTICE!

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• Work as a Team• On Your Table Laptop, You’ll Have:- A website to audit- The presentation we just reviewed for reference- A digital “audit” form

• Use Your “Top Ten” Knowledge to Assess the Provided Site With Your Team- Expert facilitators can assist with questions

• Answer all questions and submit the form!

DISCUSS AND ASSESS: THE RULES

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• We’ll have the results on the projector• Choose a presenter from your table• In 2 minutes, tell us:- The site you audited- The most memorable “top ten” success- One “top ten” element missed- One suggestion you’d make for this website (optional)

LET’S LEARN FROM EACHOTHER!

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ASK THE EXPERTS

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TEN BEST PRACTICES









9. Be Social


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FOLLOW US!@KELJAR@CHSWEB

HASHTAG THIS SESSION!#BBDESIGN