Small Changes → High Impact
The EOY giving season is upon us, and this is typically a time when many nonprofits start looking to their websites.
Here’s the thing: Year-end is not the time to reinvent your nonprofit’s website. A complete overhaul is disruptive and takes too long.
So what do you do?
The key at this stage is to identify high-leverage changes that enhance the donor experience, minimize friction, and increase conversions. These should be changes you can implement in a matter of weeks, not months.
What are those changes? We’ve put together a 3-part checklist to help you tackle the most critical, highest-impact website changes to make ahead of the giving season.
Optimizing Your Donation Page
Your donation page is the most important page on your site heading into year-end giving.
It’s where all your hard work — raising awareness, building relationships, and inspiring action — needs to pay off. But even small friction points can cause donors to hesitate or bounce.
Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.
Is Your Donation Page Year-End Ready?
✅ Is your donation form visible above the fold?
✅ Are you using compelling images or video?
✅ Do you make a clear, user-focused appeal (“YOU can make this happen”)?
✅ Do you show the impact of giving ($10 = 20 meals)?
✅ Are digital wallet payments available (Apple Pay, PayPal, etc.)?
✅ Have you removed unnecessary fields? (Just name, email, billing)
Explore More on This Topic
Strengthening Your CTAs
Your call to action is where interest turns into action — but only if it’s clear, compelling, and timely. At year-end, donors are flooded with appeals, so your CTA needs to cut through the noise.
Now is the time to tighten your language, surface your most compelling offers (like matches), and make your donation button impossible to miss.
Let’s make sure your CTAs are doing the heavy lifting.
Do you have strong calls-to-action?
✅ Is your Donate button clearly visible in the main nav?
✅ Are you using donor-centric language for your appeals (YOU can save a life)?
✅ Are you using EOY specific language (Give before Dec 31st) for your appeals?
✅ Do your CTA's highlight a sense of urgency (campaign goals, deadlines, progress bars)?✅ Do you highlight current matching opportunities?
Explore More on This Topic
Checking Your Website's Performance
Your website needs to work flawlessly when it matters most — and at year-end, that means fast, secure, and reliable performance.
A slow-loading page or broken integration can frustrate donors and derail conversions. Before traffic spikes, take time to check your speed, confirm your SSL certificate is active, and ensure your forms and integrations are working as expected.
Don’t let a tech hiccup cost you year-end gifts.
Is your website ready to perform?
✅ Have you run a speed test on your website?
✅ Do you have a valid and active SSL (https)?
✅ Are your integrations working (donor data -> CRM)?
Explore More on This Topic
Finish strong this giving season
Even though now is not the time to completely re-invent your website, it’s also not the time to sit back and resign yourself to your current website’s limitations or gaps. Implementing the high-leverage changes outlined in this article’s checklist can provide your team with actionable updates that really move the needle this season.
Need help getting your site ready?
Our team is offering a special EOY Website Readiness Package to help you quickly level up your site before Giving Tuesday. It includes a campaign landing page, donation page assessment, and social media templates — all for $3,500.
📦 View the Full Package