Design successful Campaign Pages: our ultimate guide

In this guide, we walk you through the design elements and best practices for crafting a visually appealing Campaign Page. We also provide examples of successful campaign pages to get you inspired.

Throughout the process, remember to tell a story. When people see your Campaign Page, they should be reminded of your organization’s mission and impact. We recommend completing all the elements of your Campaign Page in the Nonprofit Admin Portal for best results.

You can download a printable PDF version of this design guide here.

Engender trust with branding

To engender trust in visitors to your donation page, make sure the page’s look is aligned with that of your brand so that supporters know right away that your page is legitimate.

Logo

The first thing visitors see on your page is your logo. Upload a high-quality version of your logo, one that is easy to read and looks good on multiple devices. Your logo image should be:

• minimum of 640x640 pixels
• no larger than 1MB
• in JPG format

Brand Color

Most nonprofits identify one color to represent their brand in external communications. Feature that color on your page. To do this, insert your hexadecimal (also called hex) color code, which consists of a six-digit alphanumeric code (for example: #2363AF).

If you don’t have access to this code, ask your nonprofit’s designer or brand manager. Alternatively, try this free online tool to identify the hex code yourself by uploading an image that features your brand color prominently.

Include compelling imagery

Include interesting visuals to showcase your nonprofit’s impact, mission, and story, and motivate your visitors at a glance.

Default Template

The Campaign Page default template is a minimalist, one-page, easy-to-use design showcasing your logo and mission statement. It’s a great solution for organizations that want to keep it simple or haven't yet developed much content.

Background Image

Your background image is a very prominent part of your page. Upload a high-quality image that genuinely shows what your nonprofit does. Your background image should be:

• recommended size of 2000x1200 pixels (it will be cropped to a 5:3 aspect ratio if it isn't already)
• in JPG, JPEG or PNG format.

The background image does not appear on mobile screens.

Story Template

The Campaign Page story template is a different layout well suited to organizations wishing to feature a logo and mission statement, as well as video and impact stories. It is also ideal for virtual events that include an important pre-recorded or livestreamed video component.

Video

There are two places to embed video (only Vimeo and YouTube [but not YouTube Shorts]) in a story template: (1) in the prominent position at the top of the page and (2) within the body of the page. Whether part of a virtual fundraiser or not, added video should tell more of your story and include a clear call to action, driving people to donate. (Click here for instructions about adding a video.) Remember to select a visually appealing video thumbnail that aligns with the look of your page.

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Resources

Here’s a trio of free or affordable online resources that provide access to high-quality images and graphics that will make your campaign pages stand out from the crowd.

• Create graphics online for free: www.canva.com.
• Free, professional, royalty-free images: www.unsplash.com.
• Affordable digital assets: www.elements.envato.com.

Write a clear mission statement

People get excited to donate to your nonprofit organization based on its impact. Tell them why your organization exists, who benefits from your efforts and how. Keep it short and to the point for maximum effect. You can add images, links to other pages, and format the text as you like, but we recommend keeping it simple so that the focus remains on getting donations. For best results when adding your mission statement, we recommend typing and formatting it directly in the text-editing window, not copy-pasting it from another document. Text copied from other word processing software sometimes includes unseen code that interferes with our text-editing tool.

Resources

• How to Write a Mission Statement for a Nonprofit Organization‍
• Nonprofit Mission Statements – Good and Bad Examples‍
• 5 Favorite Nonprofit Mission Statements – and what you can learn from them
  

Add powerful impact stories

When supporters are passionate about a cause and are clear about the impact of each donated dollar, they feel more compelled to give. The Impact Stories section of your Campaign Page is a great way to creatively showcase the strength of your work.

Donation Amounts

Select donation amounts closely associated with your nonprofit stories (see to the right, letter A, for examples) or that otherwise make sense for your organization.

Impact Stories

Inspire donors with compelling impact stories. Use active, powerful verbs, and keep it concise. Include practical and verifiable examples of where the donated money goes, or get creative and use numbers that relate to your impact. (See to the right/above, letter B, for examples.)

Impact Stories Images

Select images for your impact stories that illustrate your mission and add personality to your page. Make sure your images are relevant visual supports for the impact stories (see to the right/above, letter C, for examples). For example, pick images that spotlight the communities your organization supports or materials your nonprofit provides (such as books, school supplies etc.). Get inspired by the examples shown here to craft your own impact stories. Make sure your images are relevant visual supports for the impact stories. Supported image file types are JPG and PNG; recommended dimensions: 2000 x 1200 pixels, which can be edited to fit the 5:3 aspect ratio using a built-in image sizer and cropper.

Consider these additional resources

Give Lively Resources

• See our tech in action (live Give Lively example pages for inspiration)
• See our members in action (more examples of how our members use our tech)
• ‍Build a Campaign Page
• Set up notifications for every donation

External Resources

• 106 Free or Low-Cost Online Tools and Resources for Nonprofits
• Free online tool to identify your HEX color ‍
• Create graphics online for free‍
• Free, professional, royalty-free images‍
• Affordable digital assets (photos, videos, graphics, audio, and templates)
• How to Write a Mission Statement for a Nonprofit Organization‍
• Nonprofit Mission Statements – Good and Bad Examples‍
• 5 Favorite Nonprofit Mission Statements – and what you can learn from them

A note about payment forms

Give Lively has two generations of payment forms in use. Your choice of features will dictate which form appears. At present, Campaign Pages are supported by both generations of payment forms. Use of this product, alongside others featured on this list, may trigger the second-generation payment form. Any combination of features beyond those detailed on the list will continue to see use of the first-generation form.

IMPORTANT: Both generations of payment forms guide donors through very similar giving experiences and there is no reason a nonprofit should favor one payment form over the other. Over the next few months, the new payment form will become the standard for all Give Lively donation pages. Learn more here.