Running a nonprofit of any size or scope requires effective communication. You want your audience to invest in your messaging, mission, and events. One of the best tools you can have is an updated and mobile-responsive website so people from all over Australia and beyond can connect with you, your team, and your services.
While you can go through the process of creating a brand-new website, spending time listening to your users plays a crucial role in how the site will evolve. As a not-for-profit organisation, collecting user feedback can transform a website from a simple business listing to a hub of information that drives strategic branding.
Let’s look at how you can cultivate, integrate, and build your website structure based on valuable user feedback.
Start with the Best-Fit Audience
An NDIS-funded NFP focused on offering medical transportation services for rural patients seeking regular treatment isn’t targeting an NGO with a mission to rehome lost or feral cats. You don’t need to require every visitor to your website to form an opinion about design and development.
Avoid the “too many chefs in the kitchen” problem by targeting a sampling of high-value users. These may be regular donors, volunteers you know you can count on, board members with experience in marketing, and even younger team members with more advanced knowledge of modern technology.
You want to encourage this user segment to “debug” your website design. They should offer the insights you need to guide how the website will change. You can even create a group name and give them a title within your organisation.
Once you’ve established a sample segment, you’ll want to gather indirect and direct user feedback. That combination will offer the most holistic view of your new site structure, layout, and functionality.
- Indirect User Feedback: This is the form of feedback you use where people may remain anonymous or the data that doesn’t require direct spoken insights. Good examples include Google Analytics for the demographics of your site visitors or even digital heat maps showing where visitors spend the most time on your new website. You want to gather info about what attracts users, how they behave while interacting with your site, and anything else displaying subconscious choices they make as they browse your online presence.
- Direct Feedback: This form of user feedback for your NFP website allows you to collect direct responses and input about your branding and overall site strategy. You can achieve this through surveys, email campaigns, focus groups, and social media DMs. You’ll want to ask direct questions about visual elements (logo, colours, etc.), if the info your website provides was helpful, and even if the forms you use are easy to understand.
Time to Hit the Books
Once you’ve collected your direct and indirect user feedback, it’s time to assess how it will change your website. For instance, if you have around 25 people in your focus group representing 25,000 monthly visitors, you want to pick out the common themes in responses.
Let’s say you have a donation page for your NFP’s website. However, most people giving to annual programming or missions are not in your target demographic. Then, you need to reevaluate how your brand is presented. Maybe you need an update to your brand identity or convey information that better reflects the interests of the people you want to engage the most.
You’re trying to find the best blend of visual information from the layout of your NFP website and the crucial functionality so no one, regardless of personal difficulty, runs into an issue learning about your Australian nonprofit.
Can You Give Me Some Examples?
The trick to any user feedback is to find a way to transition the information into action. We at Web 105 highly recommend you seek out the common patterns you gather in your direct and indirect feedback.
Let’s run through some examples that will give you a better idea of what we mean.
#1 – Users report the donate button on the homepage is too hard to read because it blends in with the overall background.
With this website’s user feedback, you can adjust the colour palette. You could change the contrasting colours and run an A/B test with images to see which of the two designs your feedback group prefers.
#2 – Users report they cannot tell what your NFP actually does because the mission isn’t as identifiable on the website.
This sounds like an excellent opportunity to improve how you tell your company’s branded story. Maybe you need visual elements like photos and videos from previous clients that demonstrate what you do, how it benefits the client, and why they wish to relate their personal experience with others.
#3 – Users report the website feels boring and doesn’t work well on a mobile device.
This type of feedback is what we see the most in our role as leading website designers and developers. NFPs are often stuck in between offering an online presence and knowing how to present that information in a fun and modern way. You’d act here by ensuring everything is mobile responsive and then integrating more interactive elements like maps, polls, quizzes, or shareable UGC (user-generated content).
#4 – Users report difficulty telling if a website is authentic or generated from overly posed imagery.
With the advent of AI (artificial intelligence) and stock images, someone can quickly toss up a website that looks professional but lacks the “human factor” you need to appeal to your audience. With this user feedback, you would put media from your volunteers, clients, and stakeholders front and centre. This will eliminate stock footage and allow visitors to connect with your NFP brand better.
We could go on and on with these types of examples. The point is you want to ensure your website engages and informs without sacrificing the modern elements you need to remain competitive in search engines and other resources. User feedback is essential to improving these factors.
Communication is Key
The last part of the user feedback process we should mention is informing your audience of the changes. You want to thank your segment and other users for their ongoing support. Tell them you’ve listened to their input and are ready to change.
In some cases, presenting the information you’ve learned using infographics or video can be a massive boost to engagement. Consumers of all types love to see a company working hard to meet their needs.
As an NFP, you want to be as aligned with your target clients, volunteers, and donors as possible. Let people know what is on the horison regarding changes so they feel their user feedback is valuable. This way, you’ll always have resources to continue the ongoing process of improving to rely upon in the future.
Final Thoughts
Making changes to your NFP’s website is no easy feat. One minor change to the donation form or information on your landing page can significantly impact the number of clients you have or how effective your mission gets out into the world.
Listen to your users and implement changes where necessary. Our team at Web 105 can help you achieve this balance. We have worked with countless government agencies, nonprofit organisations, and healthcare providers all over Australia and have seen first-hand how user feedback can shape a terrific website.
Give us a call today or reach out online and let’s book a consultation. We can help modernise your website, so it is fully mobile responsive, equipped with the latest plugins and enhancements, and an active part in your user feedback loop.
FAQs
How to get user feedback on a website?
You can use any tools at your disposal, such as surveys, emails, analytics, offer incentives, and conduct focus groups. The diversity of direct and indirect feedback will help improve your overall website performance.
How do you structure user feedback?
A good trick to remember is the A.C.A.F. model. You Ask for customer feedback. Then, Categorise the mined information as needed. Take Action on the gathered data. Finally, you Follow-up with clients to let them know you listened and value their input.
How important is user feedback?
Quality client feedback offers benefits like securing more leads, higher engagement, better online search engine ranking, and even the amount of donations you’ll receive for your NFP’s mission.