As Dave Raley and I are getting ready to go to the 2009 NTC, I’m deciding which sessions to attend. One session that is already on my list is about Website Usability. In a blog post with the preview of that session, Holly Ross mentions a study by Jakob Nielson on nonprofit websites, usability and donations. For those unfamiliar with Mr. Nielson, he is considered by some to be the web usability guru and by others to be highly overrated. Such is the life of an Internet celebrity. The top-line take-away is that, for the most part the donation process wasn’t the issue. The issue was getting donors from the homepage to the place where they could donate and providing them with the information they needed in order to make that decision. Specifically, how the donations will be used. As always, clear, conscise writing wins the day here. People generally scan, not read, the web so making clear use of headings is the best way to direct people to the information they need. We are in the process of a few website re-designs right now and hopefully in the next few months we’ll have some good examples to show, stay tuned!
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