This year we have been involved in more non-profit design than ever before. This has led us to finding some really great examples of design for non-profits. Here is a round up of some of our favorites.

1. Michael J Fox Foundation

2. Housing Works

3. Stop Child Labour

4. Cups Calgary

5. Boys and Girls Club Austin

6. Cistic Fibrosis Foundation

7. The Painted Door

8. R U 4 Children

9. Susan G Koman For the Cure

10. Ducks Unlimited

Sneak Peaks of our latest work

Here are some sneak peaks of some of the non profit sites we have been working on. You may be able to see some of the influence from the sites above.

Boys and Girls Club of Acadiana

We are currently working with Boys and Girls Club of Acadiana to redesign their current website. They are actively campaigning for donations and involvement in the community. The new design will help those efforts.

LCHCC

Expect to see this site live soon. We redesigned the Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic under the supervision or Cherie Hebert at BBR and we are all excited to see it go live. LCHCC has been making an impact on the working and uninsured for years and we hope that the launch of their new site helps them continue.

The Broken Ministry

The Broken Ministry is ministry that is out to serve the local church. Adam Estes is the founder and has rallied a team of support. Their website will be a host to inspirational faith based articles as well as sermons and event information.

Stay Tuned

We have enjoyed working in the Non Profit arena and hope to continue to do so. Look out for the announcement of the launch of these sites on twitter and feel free to let us know about any other great non profit design that we may have missed.

Before we design a website for a new client we ask them this question.

“What are 5 actions you want users to perform on your website?”

For some it is as simple as leaving a comment on their Blog. Others may wish to have potential clients download a PDF report, sign up for a newsletter, or ultimately buy a product.

It is important to have goals for your website, but it is equally important to understand the level of trust or commitment it takes to get users to perform an action.

The next step we take our clients through is asking them to rank those levels.

For example the level of trust or commitment it takes to leave a comment on a Blog (perhaps a 3) is far less than buying a product (8) or filling out a lengthy lead generation form (10).

The reason for understanding this is so that your website can properly drive users to those actions. A good way to do this is to backtrack the actions. Think about the questions you have when using the web. What are the questions that arise when you are prompted to “Buy Now”? Common questions would be price, and important product details. On the contrary, enjoying your article may be enough to prompt someone to leave a comment. The level of trust is far less.

This exercise is a good way to begin developing the pages and content that your site will need. Consider your goals and then backtrack the information that you will need to provide to get your users to a point where they will perform that action.

TAKE ACTION: Have a friend use your website. Watch them click and see if there are any questions that go unanswered.

Being a new member of the e-commerce industry I hear legends and tales of the “dot com” era and fall out similar to veteran accounts of the Great War. Ever since I could buy anything I could pretty much buy it online. The point I am trying to make is that the days where selling your goods and services online was a novelty are over. It takes more than a domain and a Paypal account to run an online business. The success of your e-commerce store could largely depend on your online customer experience.

Below is a list of some points to consider and use as a rough checklist for creating great online experiences that will keep your customers coming back and referring others to you.

1. Show your personality

Your mom told you to just be yourself and she was right. Use copy and imagery that showcases your businesses personality.

TAKE ACTION: Print out your website’s copy. Does it sound like a person you want to do business with? Compare it to your competition. Does your personality stand out?

Note: Don’t confuse personality with funny or silly unless it is appropriate for your brand.

2. Be transparent

It is important to be engaged with your customers and to be honest with them. More and more businesses are at the mercy of digital word of mouth. Consider the impact that a positive or negative tweet about your service our products can have.

TAKE ACTION: Be honest about delivery times and product offers. Don’t over promise and under deliver.

3. Blog

Have you ever walked into a store and the shopkeeper was nowhere to be found and you were the only customer. Chances are you didn’t hang around long. Well it is no different online. Your store needs to look “active”. If people see recent blog posts and comments then users online will feel more comfortable purchasing a product knowing that the site is current.

TAKE ACTION: Start a simple blog to post news and promotions as well engage customers in relevant conversations.

4. Use Clear Navigation

This is good practice for any web site but it is crucial in the success of online stores and business web sites. Group information in a way that easy for people understand.

TAKE ACTION: Have a few people that are unfamiliar with your site navigate it. Ask them to find a specific product or answer to a question. Then make changes based on what you learn.

Common Mis-conceptions;

• Chances are if you brag about how fancy and cool your navigation is to your friends and family the less they actually like to use it. Keep it simple.
• Don’t be afraid to put a link to the same page twice. If it helps people get to the information they want faster than you have done your job.
• Every page or section does not need to be included in the primary navigation. It’s best to include only the links that serve the majority of your users.

5. Create lists of resourceful links

Answer questions before they arise. Include links to other pages that have information relevant to making the next step in the decision making process. Conveniently placed links will help move your visitors find what they are looking for and make them feel helped.

TAKE ACTION: For product or service pages include links to relevant case studies, testimonials or other recourses.

6. Easy Contact Method

Often times, people want to speak with someone about a specific question. Imagine if you went to your local department store and asked for assistance and were told that you would receive your answer in two to three business days. Unfortunately this is the standard for online support. Imagine the impact it can have if you provide easy contact methods and respond promptly.

TAKE ACTION: Putting your phone number at the top of your website can result in a 30% increase in response. Also try having a small contact form on the sidebar of every page. Be sure to respond quickly.

7. Welcome feedback

No system is ever problem free, and with technology changing constantly web sites could have the option of changing and expanding every minute. It is best to get feedback from your customers about their experience and what they feel like could be improved. Maybe the check out process is confusing or products could be grouped differently. It is surprising the simple changes that can help your users.

TAKE ACTION: Engage your customers in a customer service survey and include questions about the usefulness of your web site.

8. Make changes based on Analytics.

Be sure you’re making changes on your site based on the way people are viewing your site. Take into account where they are coming from and what pages are being click on the most. You may find differences in the path people take coming from search engines. If important pages are being neglected then make a change.

TAKE ACTION: Look at the visits in ratio to how many page views you are getting. People may be getting discourage in finding information and could be leaving the site to quickly.

9. Have a thorough FAQ’s page.

There are a lot of factors that influence buyer’s decisions. These things are often hard to predict and not every curiosity can be answered with great marketing copy. Having a thorough FAQ page can reassure customers and save some phone calls as well.

TAKE ACTION: Make a list of all the questions people ask you about your service or your billing process or and make sure your answers are clear. Have a form at the bottom of the FAQ page to easily submit questions along with a phone number. Respond quickly with an answer and post the question on your FAQ page.

10. Brand yourself from start to finish.

When a client approaches us to design the layout of their site they often ask to see the home page first. However, I would argue that at times this is not the most crucial part of the site. For e-commerce sites it may be the checkout form or for lead generation it may be the services page or contact form. These pages shouldn’t be afterthoughts but priorities. Also consider the receipt emails as well as email correspondence with customers. These things weigh heavy on the scale of customer service.

TAKE ACTION: Look at all of the pages a customer visits and make sure that they share the same quality as the others.

Some of these I have learned the hard way and others by great example. I hope that they can be insightful and help your business create a successful online presence.

1. Answer questions
2. Sell your service
3. Point people to action
4. Leave them with something
5. Actually work

Answer Questions

Consider all of the questions that you have when investigating a potential product or service. Of course the more questions that are answered the better. It is crucial that your web site answer as many of those questions for potential customers as possible. If nothing else, it will give your secretary a break. Consider all of the area of concerns that a person has before making a decision about purchasing your product or service. Address those. Every one of them. Take an inventory of all of those answers and use that as the foundation for your web site’s content.

Sell your service

I’m not talking about just having a “buy now” button. I mean really selling it. Showcasing your product or service in a way that really show’s its best features. If you have a unique product, post a video of how it can be used. Take detailed shots of the results of your service. Invest in good photography. It goes a long way in selling the value of your product or service. Consider photos and videos as way to really give users a chance to experience your product or service before ever buying it.

Point people to action

One of the most unique things about the web is that users are more likely to actually do things they are told. That said. Tell them what to do. Boss your users around. If you want users to contact you put a big button at the end of every page that tells them to do. Use your off line sales cycle as a model to create a checklist of the info or that people typically need to make a buying decision. For example if I am considering hiring an electrician. I might like to see some sort of certification, a ballpark estimate, maybe even some insight into his experience either through pictures or clients testimonials. A site that properly guided me through finding all of this information and prompted me to contact would be highly effective.

Leave them with something
People search the web for answers and information. Your business can benefit greatly from hosting information for download, or an informative newsletter to sign up for. Leaving your potential customers with more information is a great way to be considered as a solution. Don’t worry about your competitors getting a hold of that info. The impact it can have for gaining new clients is far greater.

Actually Work

So many sites online have broken links and pages that have been “Coming Soon” for years. Nothing frustrates a user more than a broken link or the disappointment of an empty page. It is important for your business website to have useful and informative content. A website full of broken links and unpopulated pages doesn’t reflect well on your business.