The value of a good website can’t be overstated. A recent study showed people are 50% more likely to donate to a cause if they are satisfied with a nonprofit’s website! This session gives an overview of the website design process: the five stages of a successful redesign, mistakes to avoid when redesigning your site, and questions to ask to make sure you get the site your organization and issue deserves. We will also take a look at usability testing: what it is, why it’s so important, and how you can begin to improve your online presence right away with some simple usability tests. Attendees Will Walk Away With: • How to avoid costly mistakes and create a website that works for your organization. • How the usability testing process fits into your online work, and why it's so useful for everyone, not just the web team. • How to conduct a basic usability test - and improve your website - in one morning. Eric Squair Eric has been helping nonprofits communicate online for more than ten year. His clients include Greenpeace and the Make Poverty History campaign in Canada. He is interested in all aspects of effective online communications and movement building, and is equal parts communicator, techie and campaigner. You can find out more about the how, what and why of his work at http://eric.squair.ca.

1. When Bad Websites Happen To
Good Charities
Is your website costing you donors?

2. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Eric Squair
All slides available at http://eric.squair.ca
Email : eric@squair.ca
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3. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
My organization is My organization is
very happy with our embarrassed by our
website. website.
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4. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
My organization plans My organization will
to redesign our website only change the
in the next six months. content on our site
over the next year.
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5. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
My organization built our My organization
site primarily to serve 2-3 designed our site to
key audiences. serve as many people
as possible.
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6. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• User Centered Design
(or ‘Satisfy the Cat’)
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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7. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
•
“When I design a website, I don't work directly for the people who are
supposed to actually use it.
• In other words...I am in the business of selling cat food.
• The cats are not my clients, they don't hire me, they don't know I exist.
But the cats are the ones I ultimately have to satisfy.
In the web world, satisfying the cat is called User Centered Design. In the
cat food business, it's called ‘staying in business’."
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8. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Mistakes to avoid:
• Imagining the audience
• is exactly like you.
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9. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Mistakes to avoid:
• Pretend you can compel visitors to
‘obey’ your design
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10. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Stages of web redesign: Discovery
flickr.com: Radio Rover
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11. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Stages of web redesign: Planning
Text
flickr.com: DJinn76
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12. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Stages of web redesign: Design
flickr.com: ChrisM70
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13. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Stages of web redesign: Production
and Testing
flickr.com: Wisconsin Historical
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14. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Stages of web redesign: Production
and Testing
flickr.com: Official Cemex images
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15. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Stages of web redesign: Launch
flickr.com: nasafan1/MSFC
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16. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Simple Usability Testing
One user is shown a website (or
mockup) and asked to perform
simple tasks. Observations are
recorded.
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17. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Simple Usability Testing
Usability testing is not focus group testing.
Test early, test often.
Keep it simple (so you will do it).
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18. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Simple Usability Testing
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19. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• A Simple Usability Test:
Who wants to volunteer?
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20. When Bad Websites Happen to Good Charities
• Questions?
• Comments?
• eric@squair.ca
•
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