Shorter forms, more contributions

If you're looking for an easy way to increase your online contributions, take a closer look at your contribution forms.

A few studies, like this one, indicate that the more fields you have on a form, the more likely your donor is to give up before completing it.

So if you're looking for a quick fix, try making your forms shorter.

• Do you really have to collect a full billing address for every contribution? That can add five or more fields to your form. And most credit card processors don't require it.

• Are you offering donors the option to cover an additional percentage for the processing fee? Ask yourself if that extra consideration, and the impact it may be having on form abandonment, is really worth the extra 1.5%.

• Questions about their interests, how they heard about you, and mailings they'd like to receive, all add to the mental load of completing the form. If these people are just trying to give you money, is it worth it to slow them down with these questions?

Here's the thing:

Just like anything else, it's not always "that simple."

I'm always going to encourage you to find a way to test your improvements and measure their impact.

And if you'd like some more insight into cases where a longer forms actually increase conversion rates (and some of them are pretty surprising) you'll probably enjoy this article from digital marketing firm Venture Harbor.

But if you’re really just looking for a quick fix based on a good rule of thumb, just make your forms shorter.

While you're at it, make a note somewhere of the date that you made this change. Later when you're more interested in the value of good measurements, you can at least go back and compare your online contribution results before and after the change.

All the best,
A.