Church Websites: What is the right place for the “Donate” button?

churchbuzz Church Online Giving, Church Websites

donate buttonMany churches want to place the “Donate” button in the top header of their website. They want to make it super easy for people to make donations to the church. That is an admirable goal, but let’s remember that according to our strategy of Commandment #2 – Thou Shall Welcome First-Time Visitors, this could lead to a poor first impression by a first-time visitor.

Upon seeing the Donate button/link as one of the first things on the Church website, I can hear them saying:

  • Yep, all they care about is my money
  • There goes the church yet again just asking for money

Now of course it is important to have an easy way for your church to be able to donate online and so where do you put it? I believe the right place to put it is as one of the links at the very bottom of the website in the “footer” area. This way, it is easily accessible by anyone who really wants to find it as it will be on every page of the site.

I also think that having it in the footer alone will not really see many if any donations. The reason is that most members don’t visit the site on a regular basis. Also, if your congregation has been giving by check or cash for many many years, it can be a tough habit to break. I recommend that you start small and start offering small things like class registrations and such where people can pay online and then get more regular with asking for specific payments/gifts/etc as time goes by.