The Importance of Customization     

   The customization and development of your contribution form is an integral part of your campaign website!

         According to Entrepreneur magazine, the five major positions of web design must include: appearance, usability, feature functionality, content, and standards compliance. Your payment processor should include all of these positions in the design of their contribution form as well as allow you to customize your form’s content and design to match your website. Let’s go through these and share some tips on how to utilize these positions to brand your campaign website.
The appearance of your contribution form can increase or inhibit your campaign contribution, depending on the form. The things you want to look for in a form: make sure that your donors see the security level of your form. The sample contribution form has a level of security listed to put the donors at ease. Raise the Money’s system is PCI Level 1 Compliant.

        Two features that are equally as important as appearance are usability and feature functionality. According to Entrepreneur magazine, “every interaction [is] a marketing opportunity.”  Another feature that is important: being able to donate through multiple platforms. Raise the Money gives the donor the ability to choose either Credit/Debit Card transactions or Bank Transfer. The below picture shows the two options from a sample contribution form.

           Our Wizard Form is another way to incorporate streamlined navigation for your contribution form. Campaigns have the option to choose either the Wizard Form or the Standard Contribution Form. But, the Wizard form really gives a seamless look to the contribution form. Donors are given 3 seamless steps to donate in a fast and easy way. Click here to see an example of what the format looks like.

           Another option for our clients is to enable the Quick Contribute option for their contributors. This feature is optional, but this allows contributors to save their payment information to make contributing easier. This option works for any candidate that uses our services, so users can save their information and use the same log-in for any candidate they want to donate funds to. The easier it is to donate, the more contributions your campaign will receive.

     The design option is another important feature to consider. Your payment processor should give you the ability to fully customize your contribution form to match your website. Through Raise the Money’s Contribution Form tab, you are given the ability to change the choice of contribution amounts, request spousal information and employer information, and choose your state’s terms from our pre-populated list. Additionally, the form can be manipulated to change the color, background/header images and color overlay. If you really want complete creative control on your form, we have a Developer Embed Kit that allows developers to change the website to fully match the campaign’s branding.

     Lastly, standards compliance must employ responsive design to allow the contribution form to be viewed from any screen. Contributors want to have an easy way to donate on multiple devices in a variety of different ways. First of all, your contribution form must be mobile friendly. Donors want to be able to have a fast and easy way to donate on multiple platforms, from their computer at home to an iPad at a fundraising event. The reason why this is so important: it not only allows users to interact with your contribution page on multiple devices, but also may increase search engine traffic to your website.

         We hope this tips will help you to engage more users to donate through your website! As always, feel free to call or email us with any questions or concerns!