Usability Study Measures Website Performance amongst UK Charities

21 June 2012

Author: Ben Logan

Passionate about improving services and experiences for the people that use them.

According to the latest study by not-for-profit IT services provider Eduserv, when it comes to usability, animal charities are leading the pack.

The 2012 Charities Usability Report rated websites from poor to exceptional. It evaluated forty major charities across the UK in sectors including aid, education, animal welfare, children and health charities.

Eduserv analysed usability metrics such as ease of making a donation, prominence of links to donate and overall ease of website navigation.

Animal charities came out on top for most criteria, including having the most ‘donation friendly’ websites.

In contrast, some of the most high profile household names for aid charities were found to be lacking with a rating in fourth place.

John Simcock, Charity Sector Manager at Eduserv, commented: “Making a donation to a charity website is probably the most fundamental transaction on the whole website. It’s imperative that sites are well developed, usable and that it is both quick and obvious to make a donation.”

He added: “With many charities cutting services and some at risk of closing down because of reduced budgets following government cuts, it is vital that they make the most of their website. By doing this, they can not only engage better with volunteers and beneficiaries but also encourage and facilitate donations. With today’s improvements in web design and development, users are less patient with poor websites. If a charity cannot engage with a user within the first few clicks people are far less likely to donate.”