No One Likes Your Web Site

Seems like everyone's taking potshots at nonprofit Web sites these days. A few weeks ago I wrote about Jakob Nielsen's study of nonprofit Web site usability. He found that 47% of the sites studied had problems relating to page and site design; users couldn't find where to make a donation on 17% of the sites; and 53% of the sites suffered from unclear or missing information and confusing terms.

Now ForeSee Results, which describes itself as a customer satisfaction measurement firm, has published the results of a study based on 2,000 respondents who rated nonprofit Web sites. Their key findings:

On the 100-point scale used for the study, the average nonprofit Web site scores a 73. The threshold for excellence in Web site satisfaction is generally considered to be 80. Even though nonprofits don't have the same resources to invest in their sites as private sector companies, they are judged by the same standards.

A highly satisfied Web site visitor is 49% more likely to donate to the nonprofit, 38% more likely to volunteer, and 65% more likely to recommend the site and 49% more likely to recommend the organization to others.

The top two reasons people visit nonprofit sites are: news and events (40%) and to stay informed about the cause the organization addresses (40%). Almost one in five (18%) Web site visitors are there specifically to make a financial contribution.

The authors looked at the Web sites' functionality, how they presented the organizations' images, the quality and recency of the information presented, the sites' navigation, and their look and feel. The study concludes that nonprofits' Web sites are

A colossal area of opportunity for nonprofits suffering from decreased giving. The study shows that the Web channel has a huge impact on driving the likelihood of site visitors to donate, recommend the site and organization, volunteer, and use the site as their primary source of information.

But there's hope for nonprofit Web sites. Smashing Magazine published a list of 8 best practices for nonprofit Web sites and 20 examples of sites that they think are great. The great sites include well-known names like Oxfam, Greenpeace, and Kiva, as well as smaller organizations like the New York City Coalition Against Hunger and the Breadline Africa Worldwide Blogger Bake Off. It's a good list to check out.