Visual communication in website design: some effective ideas

As a nonprofit organization, your website is one major place where you build an emotional connection with your audience. It is also where you talk about your products, causes, team and even the fundraising software that your organization currently uses. It is a natural human tendency to relate to things we can look at rather than what we can read. As for 49% of marketers in a study by Venngage, visual communication is an extremely important part of their marketing strategy. Therefore, visuals matter more than you realize:

• Visual communications engages, it is remembered.
• First impression is the key to a pool of opportunities for your organization.
• The constant increase in the use of digital devices worldwide increases the benefits of visual storytelling.

Here are a few ways in which you can figure out the how and why of incorporating good visuals into your website. 

Design For Change

The first and foremost place to begin would be your website’s design. You are a nonprofit working towards good change and the betterment of society. So ask yourself if your website design is a “design for change”? 

• Pay attention to your navigation menu, logo, font size, header, search box and end of page, among others. 
• The color scheme of your website should also be in coordination with the color of your organization as a brand.
• Use visuals in your design but avoid overdoing it. Keep it simple and clean. 
• Make sure that everything on your website is mobile optimized. 

Become Data-Driven

Be it your homepage or your blog, make use of statistics that can give an insight into the message that you wish to convey. For example, if your nonprofit has raised a good amount on a special day such as #GivingTuesday, highlight that on your homepage. Provide numbers with a good visual to compliment the same. A research by QuickSprout shows that data driven visuals rank fourth in shareable formats. You can also provide data visuals on your blog content and all over your website. Show the number of causes you’ve helped in aiding, talk about the number of volunteers and donors that have signed up with you. Incorporate data into your narrative. 

Blog Images

Studies have shown that 35.5% of visuals get created primarily for blog content. Writing a blog post and publishing it is not enough, you need to get people to read your article. 

• Make sure that your featured image is relevant to the content of your article. 
• Go for customized images, get your design team to help you come up with a visual that is engaging. 

You can check out GiveCentral’s blog with featured images to get a clearer picture on using the right visuals for your articles. 

Original Visuals

One great way to enhance a website is to try taking pictures and videos yourself and using those visuals. If you have the funds, you can hire your own photographer to do the needful. Stock photos are always available, yes. At the same time, such photos get old pretty quickly and become overused and outdated. For example, you can take pictures of your fundraising software in action or even pictures of the effort that goes into running a fundraising campaign. The point here is to show a real life setting in order to highlight your mission or your product. 

Animated GIFs and Memes

Although you are a serious organization with some serious mission, that doesn’t mean that your visuals have to be serious all the time. You can always take inspiration from outside the nonprofit world as well. Get creative and make use of GIFs and memes on your website to get your message across. Take a look at the meme below, you can see how Grammarly has created this meme all while providing value and humour at the same time. 

In the same way, you can emphasize on the support of your donors through memes and humorous visuals. You can even apply this to your blog articles. 

Conclusion

Creating infographics and quotes supported by powerful images can also help you engage more audience and attract more donors. Make sure that you use excellent quality visuals. Once you perfect your visual communication via your website, do not forget to include a Call-To-Action button where it is required and relevant. Now that incorporation of visuals are taken care of, you might want to learn more on topics like the ideal fundraising software or running a successful fundraising campaign. Rest assured, the team at GiveCentral is always available for help and assistance here.