Giving Page Dilemma
Experiment No. 008
The purpose of a donation page is to get donations. No, duh, right?
But not all donation pages are created equal. They each come with pros and cons.
So which one should we use?
Before getting into some of the smaller ways to improve a donation page, let’s look at two different types, the on-site (general) and the external (landing page) give page.
Before we begin, let’s clarify the difference.
On-site Giving Page
You find the on-site, or general, giving page on the organization’s main website. Click the donate button on the homepage and you get directed to the on-site giving page.
Because the general giving page is on the website, it often acts as a catch-all for the many ways to donate. Hence, the term general giving page. You may find a quick give option, but also how to call or mail a gift. It may include the many projects to give to or other ways to give, like planned giving or donating a car.
Anyone who comes to your site will donate using this page.
Every organization has and needs this page.
Is this bad? No, this type of page has its place. But is it enough?
External Landing Page
The external landing page donation page may look very similar to the onsite page except for a few key elements.
A donation landing page does not have a navigation bar and is separate from the homepage. An external landing page has a single goal.
The content and call to action are very specific to that goal.
If you send an email or post on social media you can link to the general give page or a landing page. But which one is better?
That’s what we wanted to find out, so we conducted a test.
Research Question: Which giving page is better to link to in an email?
Hypothesis: The external landing page will result in more donations.
Test Element: Donation Page
Control- Onsite General Give Page
Test- External Landing Page with Donation Form
Key Metric: Conversion rate
Sample Size: Used a 50/50 split
Control- 466,183
Test- 466,100.
This was the number of emails received, not the number of people who visited the donation pages. The audience size was even before sending the emails. The discrepancy upon sending happened because more addresses bounced from the test list.
Results: The external donation landing page had a higher conversion rate (2% more)
Note: The open and click rate on the emails were the same.
Application: An external donation landing page outperforms a general donation page.
Final Thoughts: If you run a campaign or send emails for certain events or projects it is better to build an external landing page. The time spent creating one is worth the increase in donations.
