Nonprofits and Mobile: Responsive Design or Donation Apps?

As someone who works for a nonprofit organization in the modern age, you know how important mobile is to the fundraising process. But should you use donation apps or simply create a responsive mobile website? Which creates a better experience for your donors?

Responsive Design Is a Must

Regardless of your plans to delve into the world of donation apps, one thing is for sure: optimizing your nonprofit’s website for mobile is a necessity. Mobile devices are now becoming commonplace. Anyone should be able to visit your site on-the-go and successfully make a donation.

In order for that to happen, your site must be easy to navigate on the mobile web. The stats are clear on the perks of responsive websites:

70% of searches on mobile web lead to action within one hour

40% of people will choose a different search result if the first is not mobile friendly

Responsive site design is a great, and necessary, first step — but it won’t solve all of your problems. That’s where donation apps come in.

The Case for Donation Apps

It isn’t really a question of whether you should choose one or the other. In reality, you need both a responsive website and a mobile app presence in order to tap the full potential of a mobile fundraising strategy.

Why should you start looking into donation apps for your nonprofit? People are generally more comfortable using mobile apps than visiting mobile websites, and they do so far more often. According to a study by Flurry:

86% of time spent on mobile takes place in apps

Only 14% of that time is spent on mobile web

Even the most user-friendly responsive website could pose trouble for your donors. In fact, 46% of mobile users have difficulty interacting with web pages.

Accepting gifts through donation apps lets you meet people where they are most comfortable — which makes it more likely that they will step up and give to your organization.