The charity website playbook

What this playbook is for

Charity websites often get judged in seconds. People decide whether to donate or leave based on trust, clarity, and how easy the journey feels.

This playbook covers the essentials. It helps you build a site that supports donors, volunteers, and people who need help.

Start with the journeys that matter

Most charity sites try to do everything at once. You get better results by focusing on a few key actions and making them smooth.

• Donate.
• Volunteer.
• Fundraise.
• Refer someone or request support.
• Contact the team.

Donation journeys that convert

A donation journey should feel simple and safe. Remove decisions that do not help the donor act.

Donation page essentials

• One clear primary call to action, donate.
• One-off and monthly options.
• Preset amounts plus an other amount option.
• Short explanations of what each amount supports.
• Gift Aid explained in plain language, with an eligibility link.
• Minimal fields and clear labels.
• A clear confirmation step and a donation receipt email.

Donation journey problems to avoid

• Forcing account creation.
• Hiding monthly giving behind extra steps.
• Long forms and unclear validation [4]Source 4 .
• Surprise fees or unclear processing fees.
• Competing calls to action above the donate option.

Trust signals people look for

Donors want reassurance. Put trust signals where people find them quickly, without making the site feel corporate.

Essential trust signals

• Charity number and registered details in the footer.
• Clear contact details, including a real address if appropriate.
• Who you help and how you work, explained plainly.
• Impact evidence, numbers, outcomes, and stories.
• Annual report and accounts, easy to find.
• Privacy policy and data use explained in plain terms.
• Clear safeguarding information where relevant.

Trust killers

• Stock photos everywhere.
• Big claims without proof.
• Pop-ups and urgency language.
• Confusing navigation and buried contact details.

Accessibility built in

Accessibility is not optional. Charity sites often serve people under stress or with limited time. Making journeys usable is part of service delivery [1]Source 1 .

Non-negotiables

• Full keyboard access for menus, modals, and forms [2]Source 2 .
• Visible focus states.
• Clear headings and page structure.
• Clear link text and button labels.
• Forms with labels, instructions, and clear errors [3]Source 3 .
• Good colour contrast and readable type.
• Pages that work at 200% zoom.
• Reduced motion support where animation exists.

Content accessibility essentials

• Use meaningful alt text for informative images.
• Provide captions or transcripts for video where needed.
• Use plain language and short sections.
• Avoid walls of text. Use headings that help scanning.

Speed supports conversions

Donation journeys often run on mobile. Slow pages increase abandonment. Heavy scripts reduce trust and reliability [6]Source 6 .

Speed essentials

• Keep pages lightweight. Avoid large hero media on key landing pages.
• Optimise images and serve appropriate sizes.
• Control third-party scripts. Remove low value tags [5]Source 5 .
• Keep fonts simple and avoid excessive weight variants.
• Prevent layout shift by reserving space for media and banners [9]Source 9 .

Keep it fast over time

• Set a page weight budget for key page types.
• Set a cap on third-party scripts.
• Run performance checks monthly on top landing pages, using field data where available [10]Source 10 .

Content that supports fundraising

Fundraising works better when people understand the impact and feel confident about where money goes.

• Clear impact pages with measurable outcomes.
• Stories with context, problem, action, outcome.
• A simple explanation of how donations are spent.
• A fundraising toolkit, resources, posters, social templates, guidance.
• Corporate support and partnerships explained clearly, if relevant.

Tracking the actions that matter

Track outcomes. Ignore vanity metrics.

• Donate button clicks.
• Donation start and completion.
• Form start and completion.
• Phone and email link clicks.
• Newsletter sign-ups.
• Download clicks for key resources.

Ongoing care

Charity sites often run lean. That makes simple issues more costly when they slip through.

Monthly checks

• Test donate and contact journeys end to end.
• Check confirmation emails and receipts.
• Check broken links and missing pages.
• Run quick accessibility checks on key templates [2]Source 2 .
• Run quick performance checks on top landing pages using consistent lab settings [11]Source 11 .
• Confirm backups or hosting snapshots, depending on the platform.

Launch checklist

• Test donation flow on mobile and desktop.
• Test keyboard only journeys.
• Test at 200% zoom.
• Test form errors and confirmations [4]Source 4 .
• Confirm redirects if URLs changed.
• Confirm tracking events for donations and forms.

Next step

Start with the donate journey and one key landing page. Improve those first, then expand to the rest of the site. Small improvements in trust, accessibility, and speed often produce immediate results.