AN IDEA
In the past, I’ve worked with multiple startups mainly as their production designer and web developer. I’ve seen the speed of marketing expediting the process of various methods for landing page designs. Utilizing different CTA colors, images, and message elements to invoke machine learning suggestions and decision-making. What may seem to be a good option from the machine’s perspective, wasn’t always what the end user’s clicked on. And this was back in 2015!
At one startup, we would create informational emails and landing pages that have multiple funnels of entry by design, based on the recipient’s IP location. Next with the location pinpointed, marketing would provide variants in design and copy to entice the user.
Once the user finds something of interest to their needs, they click through to the eCommerce section of our company site where they proceed to grab the product that best fits their needs.
But you’re wondering, what does this have to do with non-profit organizations? They are not operating on a large budget or have several departments to lift the workload. How does the MVP or “minimum viable product” model work? Well, I am going to adjust the term to “minimum viable page.”
INITIAL START
Over the past half of 2023, I’ve been working with various non-profit groups across the United States and analyzing what they need for their website. The majority of the features required on the site is a donation CTA (call to action) that’s visible and upfront. The next critical element of their organization is a news feed to show their progress paired with a mission statement.
How to get your minimum viable page out the door and measure its success through various social channels. After the information and website analytical data have been collected, you can then progressively add more to the site that tailors to specific needs. As the first initiative for the site launch, get two to three pages up. Homepage, mission statement page, and contact page.
To start, the organization’s branding needs to stand out. A bold message paired with meaningful imagery that speaks to the audience. Next, pair this with a strong compelling story to help the audience understand the key points or purpose, this would belong on the mission statement section or page.
The mission page will focus on the goals of the organization. The values your team wishes to achieve. Perhaps a contact form if someone would like to volunteer their time. Add a history of how the organization started and who the key members were and why they started the organization.
Add a few actionable donate CTAs to drive people to contribute to the cause on the main nav or footers of the site. The main nav is usually pinned to the top so the donate button is always visible. You can sprinkle some more CTA’s throughout the site.
Lastly, a contact page would be the final page of the site. if someone would like to learn more or contribute their time and money to the cause. If they want people to follow the organization, perhaps by adding an FAQ section, newsletter sign-up, and social media outbound links.
WORDPRESS PLATFORM
WordPress is an excellent platform to help you get off the ground. Creating a few custom pages is a breeze with the new Block Editor. You can also create various user accounts with different levels of functionality so that you can multitask the organization’s duties. Lastly, creating posts for a future blog page has always been a strong suit of WordPress.
WORDPRESS PLUGINS
To start, a great plugin for donations is GiveWP. A full suite of options for you to customize your donation preferences. One unique feature is a customized donation form paired with analytical tracking for recurring revenue.
Next is a reliable form for primary contact functionality. A good and simple form builder plugin is WPForms. You can create unlimited forms and disburse them throughout the site. A homepage form can focus on organizer and donor communication. A secondary form can be placed on the About or Mission Statement page and tailored to volunteer and sponsorship support. If there is a seasonal campaign you can branch off a form specifically for that as well.
Last but not least are some important SEO calibration plugins. The most notable industry-standard ones are Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and MonsterInsights. The last one pairs nicely with your Google Analytics data.
NEXT STEPS
Once your organization gains enough traction over a month, the next recommended course of action is to review the analytics data and see what sticks. Who clicked on what, which page grabbed more attention, which forms people filled out more, and which CTA donors felt more compelled to click on? All the while you can focus on social media connections and business events to drum up attention.
You can’t gauge your audience without some base to start from. Don’t overthink the site. Get the purpose of your organization and the primary message out the door. The nature of the internet is inherently iterative.