Using real-world examples, and in collaboration with cyber foundry
Reason Digital, newscaster
Charity Digital take a hard-hitting look into the steps to achieving maximum impact with a charity’s website.
They share that possibly the best way for a charity to make the most of their website is to offer its service users and visitors a focus on
clarity, accessibility, and user-friendliness.
They should want to make sure their site is responsive; this means it adapts well to different devices, such as mobile phones and tablets (and even smart TVs that come with web-browser abilities) on top of a typical laptop or desktop.
Above all, it should follow accessibility guidelines to accommodate users with disabilities, such as those with sight or physical impairment.
Below are some light guidelines that web designers could consider.
Make it Clear & Make it Simple
In a charity’s web design, the language should be clear and concise. Authors should avoid using jargon and technical terms, and instead
opt for short sentences and paragraphs, making information easy to understand.
Providing clear navigation is also a valuable consideration, with the use of
simple, familiar menu structure with clear labels for key pages like "
Home", "
About Us", and "
Contact Us".
A charity’s web designer should also
make content scannable; the use of headings, subheadings, and bullet points to break up large blocks of text can help towards making it easier for users and visitors to find that specific or all-important piece of information.
Providing summaries can also help navigate a charity website; the inclusion of summaries at the top of long pages is very
helpful to give users a quick overview of the content.
Make it Accessible
A charity’s web designer should make sure of a responsive design.
In today’s technological landscape, the website should
adapt to different screen sizes (as found in desktops/laptops, tablets or mobile phones) and follow accessibility guidelines.
One way a charity’s web designer could do this is to observe standards like
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to make the site usable for people with disabilities.
They could also offer alternative text for pictures – making sure images have descriptive ‘alt text’ so users with visual impairments
can understand their content – is also a favoured action to do.
To that end (and if it’s possible) other options to help with the web experience of users with disabilities could include using features like
adjustable text size,
high contrast options, and
screen reader compatibility.
Videos often help with getting a charity’s message across to a visitor, so it pays to
make sure they are accessible by providing captions and transcripts for the footage used.
It’s called “User-Friendliness”
A charity web designer should
make it easy to find contact information.
It pays to provide clear and obvious contact details – the displaying of easy-to-find phone numbers, email addresses, and potentially a contact form.
If offering online shopping or appointment scheduling, a web author should make it easy for users to purchase products or book appointments when on the charity’s site.
Provide clear calls to action – the use of
strong verbs on buttons and links are a must as this would encourage users to take desired and confident actions.
Again, the suitable use of colours and fonts would help, and a charity web designer should choose
shades that are easy on the eye, making sure of enough contrast between the text and the background.
By focusing on these key areas, a charity could go a long way into creating a website that is both informative and easy to use, making the most of the value that their website provides for service users and visitors alike.
To
read the full article, visit the Charity Digital
website.