How to set up a donation page that converts: 5 simple steps

A well-designed donation page gives your supporters an easy way to contribute to your cause—whether by donating themselves or sharing the page with their friends. But how do you convert visitors into actual donors? 

The key isn’t creating a donation page—it’s optimizing it for success. Below, we’ll explore the best strategies to enhance your donation or fundraising pages so they tell your story and inspire more people to give.

Step 1: Choose the right fundraising platform

To set up a donation page that drives results, start by selecting the best platform for your needs. The right platform makes all the difference—not just in engagement, but in how seamlessly you can manage the entire fundraising process.

There are two main types of software to consider: a standalone tool or a centralized fundraising platform. The best choice depends on your current tech stack and goals, but an all-in-one platform can help streamline your operations beyond just a donation page.

When comparing fundraising platforms, look for:

• Ease of use
• Built-in nonprofit CRM
• Easy-to-use widgets
• Customization options
• Integration with tools you already use (e.g., donor management, email marketing)
• Affordable or free pricing
• Secure payment processing
• Multiple payment options, including PayPal and Venmo

💡Pro tip: If you want to get started quickly—without spending hours researching software—you’ll be happy to know that Givebutter’s fundraising pages offer all of the above and much more. 

What real Givebutter users are saying:

Givebutter had a very simple setup process that allowed us to create our donation page quickly after Hurricane Helene destroyed our school campus. This quick setup helped build momentum in our community, leading to more and more donations to our site. — Givebutter Review, Nicole R.

Step 2: Customize your donation page design

The way your donation page looks can have a major impact on how donors engage with it. You don’t need a degree in graphic design to make impactful changes. With some simple tweaks, you can make your page stand out and encourage more donations. 

More to explore

7 most successful donation landing page examples →

Show your impact 🚀

Your donors feel most confident about supporting your work when they know exactly where their contributions are going. Use your page to clearly illustrate your cause, how their donation will be used, and how they’re making a difference in the world. 

Here’s how to help your donors visualize their impact: 

• Add photos, graphics, illustrations, and video content
• Personalize your page with real stories and quotes
• Customize donation tiers to add detail (e.g., $50 provides 10 school lunches)

💡Pro tip: With the ability to add images and video, customize donation tiers, and more, Givebutter provides plenty of ways to demonstrate how your donors can make an impact.

Make your donate button pop ✨

A donate button isn’t only a tool for collecting payments online. It’s a call to action—a simple yet powerful way for your supporters to immediately become part of the change you’re making in the world.

Your donate button should be the most eye-catching element of any donation page, website, emails, text blasts, and social media posts—anywhere you’re asking for donations online. 

Here’s how to optimize your donate button:

• Use colors that align with your branding and check that they’re accessible
• Customize text to inspire action, such as "Give Now," "Support a Cause," or "Donate Today"
• Position buttons in highly visible locations, like your header, footer, and within key content
• Add a floating donate button for continuous visibility 

💡Pro tip: With Givebutter, you can do all of this for free—seamlessly linking your donate button to any donation form or fundraising campaign. 

What real Givebutter users are saying:

The branding and platform are very aesthetic and easy to use for donors, and I like the ability to put images and links in the story, campaign announcements, and auction item listings. — Givebutter Review, Rachel T.

Embed a user-friendly donation form 💰

When supporters click your donate button, they should land directly on your donation form. Streamline your form so the donation process is quick and easy—fewer clicks means a higher conversion rate.

Just like your donate button, you want to optimize your form for success. Here’s how: 

• Keep forms simple with only the essential fields
• Offer suggested donation amounts
• Include compelling descriptions to encourage generosity
• Enable donors to give a custom amount
• Turn on auto-filled fields to retain returning donor information

Streamline the process even further by embedding your donation form directly into your donation page or adding a pop-up widget, allowing donors to contribute without leaving your website. Now, any regular webpage can act as a donation landing page.

💡Pro tip: Like donate buttons, Givebutter’s donation forms are fully customizable, allowing you to match your branding, craft compelling descriptions, suggest donation amounts, and offer recurring donation options in one convenient place. 

What real Givebutter users are saying:

The customizable widgets and the possibility of embedding a form directly into our existing website was a real draw. Givebutter makes the donor experience so smooth and makes it truly easy to be philanthropic! — Givebutter Review, Liz M.

Dive deeper

Discover free donation form templates and tips →

Step 3: Optimize your fundraising page for more donations

Adding donate buttons and designing your page is just the start. You also want to optimize your donation page for conversions. Here’s how to use your page to encourage and motivate supporters to give. 

Encourage recurring donations 💳

Did you know that recurring donors give an average of $288 per year compared to a one-time gift of $155? Yet only 14% encourage donors to opt in to recurring giving. When you add a recurring donation option to your donation page—and promote it within the donation form—you can easily turn one-time donors into long-term supporters.

Givebutter makes it simple for nonprofits to offer monthly, quarterly, or yearly donation options. You can even set recurring gifts as the default donation option or enable automated upsell messages that invite anyone making a one-time donation to sign up to give monthly instead.

Accept multiple payment methods 💸

While 63% of donors prefer to give via credit or debit card, failing to offer other payment options means you could miss out on valuable funds. Make it easy for supporters to give by offering a variety of payment options. 

In addition to debit and credit cards, popular payment methods include: 

• PayPal and Venmo
• Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Donor-advised funds (DAF donations)
• ACH donations
• Tap to Pay
• Offline donations (e.g., checks and cash)

💡Pro tip: Givebutter allows you to accept all of these payment methods—and more—without any additional costs or setup. Supporters can have peace of mind knowing that contributions made through Givebutter’s online fundraising platform are completely secure.

Build momentum with a fundraising thermometer 🎉

Publicizing your fundraising goal can significantly impact the success of your campaign. Donors can watch you get closer to your goal, and it often motivates them to get involved. 

You can add a goal bar to any Givebutter campaign or embed a fundraising thermometer directly on your website, making it easy for supporters to track your progress and visualize how their donation can make all the difference. 

Optimize for mobile 📱

Around 57% of nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile devices, so it’s essential that your donation pages look and function just as well on phones as they do on desktop. Last year, mobile transactions increased by 50%—so if your donation pages aren’t optimized for mobile, now is the time to make that change.

Wondering how to make your donation pages more mobile-friendly? Here’s how: 

• Check how the page looks across different device types
• Keep your copy concise and to the point 
• Avoid excessively long paragraphs of text
• Only include essential fields on donation forms

💡Pro tip: Don’t worry—you don’t have to be a tech expert to make these changes. If you use Givebutter, rest easy knowing that your entire donation experience is already optimized for mobile. 

More to explore

12 best donation form examples to inspire your nonprofit →

Step 4: Track your donation page analytics

Once your donation page is live, track its performance to assess its effectiveness. Monitoring your analytics and tracking engagement helps you make informed decisions to improve conversion rates. 

Here’s how to find this valuable data:

• Use Google Analytics to monitor traffic and conversion rates
• Use A/B testing to experiment with donation form placements and messaging
• Gather donor feedback to refine the user experience

💡Pro tip: If you’re using Givebutter, you can also leverage the built-in nonprofit CRM, along with a wealth of donation management and reporting tools to analyze the performance of your donation page and wider donation trends.

What real Givebutter users are saying:

Considering the amount of features available, I’m continuously surprised that Givebutter is completely free. CRM capabilities, robust donation widgets, campaign pages, import/export options, and more! — Givebutter Review, Drew F.

Step 5: Capture leads for future engagement

Not every visitor will donate immediately. They might be waiting for payday or looking for the ideal moment to support your cause. By capturing their details, you won’t miss out on future opportunities to turn them into your supporters. 

Here’s how to start building relationships with potential donors: 

• Use email signup forms to collect details
• Embed signup forms on your website and donation pages
• Offer a compelling reason to subscribe, such as impact updates or exclusive stories
• Use automated email sequences to nurture potential donors over time
• Allow donors to make pledges for future donations

By taking these steps, you can build relationships, keep your organization top of mind, and provide valuable updates to would-be donors. It's a great way to stay connected and engage potential donors on their journey.

Craft a donation page that raises more with Givebutter

Your donation page doesn’t have to look like all the others. Use storytelling, user-friendly design, and imagery to create an optimized donation page that your supporters can’t help but engage with—and you can do it all with Givebutter.

Givebutter is the all-in-one fundraising solution that helps you create beautiful donation pages, communicate with your donors in multiple ways, and embed donation widgets directly on your website—all completely free. 

Ready to see how Givebutter can transform your donation landing page into a fundraising machine? Create your free account and discover how you can level up your donation pages today.

Donation page FAQs

Have a question about donation pages? Here are some of the top questions we get asked about donation and fundraising pages, along with our best advice.

How do I start a fundraising page? / How do I set up a free donation page?

Starting a fundraising page or donation page is easy! Sign up for Givebutter for free, and you can get started in moments. Once you’re signed up, use this guide on how to make a donation website to help you build and optimize your fundraising page for success.

What is the best donation website?

We might be biased, but we think Givebutter has everything you need to set up a donation page and start receiving funds from your community of supporters. 

Not only can you create and share an engaging fundraising page, but you can also encourage fundraising through donation forms, embeddable widgets, and features like auctions and events.

What do I write on a donation page? 

Your donation page should motivate people to give to your cause or support your fundraising project. Use storytelling, quotes from your team and beneficiaries, and statements that explain the impact of donating. Complement your words with photos and images to further illustrate your story.

What’s the best way to get donations?

A clear, user-friendly, and engaging donation page is an excellent way to encourage donations from your community. Use this alongside other methods like peer-to-peer fundraising, text-to-donate, scan-to-donate, events, and auctions to give your donors even more opportunities to support your cause.