Charity user research, why we see it as an investment, not a cost.
Closing the gap and breaking down barriers for charities approach to user research.
Pixeled Eggs, a digital agency with over a decade of experience developing websites for not-for-profit organisations and charities, big and small. In that time, we’ve observed the differences between the charities that came to us with a research budget or previous research findings and those that could not secure a budget for charity user research.
Charities that invest in research have a deeper understanding of their users and are empowered to make intentional design choices; charities that base decisions on assumptions cannot make these same decisions with confidence. And yet, despite this generally understood truth, the Charity Digital Skills report of 2023 showed that 64% of charities in the UK have excellent basic digital skills, but still show significant skill gaps in collecting and analysing data to inform decision-making and charity user research. From the same source, just over 21% of charities have had funding for developing their website, but only 5% were granted funding for user research.
So why is the value of charity user research still yet to be entirely understood?
In our team’s experience, we found that many charities perceive user research as an expensive process. It’s often considered a significant cost, when, in reality, user research can be tailored to the budget and time limitations of the organisation. The result is that research is often the first thing to be cut out of a website design project.
However, when done right user research is not a cost, but rather an investment.
Google defines user research as “research that focuses on understanding user behaviours, needs and motivations through observation and feedback. It helps bridge the gap between what the organisation thinks users need and what they actually need before an expensive and time-consuming product is made”.
User research can only benefit charities and charity funding bodies because:
- User research will save time and money in the long run by designing a website based on real users and analysis, preventing the design of a website that will not be used.
- Good user research will not only investigate user needs but also consider the charity’s objectives and limitations. This means that user research will provide prioritised focus areas, helping the team align behind one clear design direction.
- User research findings are hard to challenge. When stakeholders disagree on design decisions, research findings provide a clear path forward and avoid design based on assumptions or the opinions of the loudest person in the room.
- User research will guarantee a better understanding of what users need from the experience, which will unquestionably provide the elements to design a more relevant and pleasant interaction with users.
Pixeled Eggs has collected numerous examples of this over the years.
The success of foundational research
‘Foundational’ or ‘exploratory research’ is the initial stage of research, aimed only at answering the questions:
- What do users need?
- What problems are they currently experiencing?
Bumble Conservation Trust, foundational research
Pixeled Eggs ran this type of research with the charity Bumblebee Conservation Trust. We set up exploratory interviews with their community intending to uncover their pain points and what they might need from a new website. In so doing, we discovered the surprising discontent of the volunteer community, which was poorly serviced online. We also uncovered significant areas of improvement in the online donation journey which was proving to reward members making smaller donations over non-member repeat donors making larger donations. These pain points would not have been uncovered without speaking directly to users before the design stage. With these findings, together with the client, we were able to simplify the donation journey, eliminate inequality between members and non-members, and design a whole new website area that services and rewards the charity’s active community of volunteers [now live; volunteer section live in the autumn of 2024].
“Collaborating with Pixeled Eggs on our website user requirements specification gave us a fantastic insight into how our users interact with our current range of sites, and crucially what different audience groups would need from a new website. The approach the Pixeled Eggs team took allowed us to identify key points in a timely, and important to us as a charity, cost-effective manner.”
Barnaby Smith, Public Engagement Manager, Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
The Earthshot Prize, foundational research
Through the foundational research efforts we ran with not-for-profit The Earthshot Prize, an organisation rewarding a sustainable future, we conducted several interviews with former prize winners and partners and audience focus groups. During those exploratory interviews, we uncovered that while most users felt great pride in their Earthshot association, some stakeholders felt there was room for improvement when it came to representing their involvement in the prize and their impact. Additionally, we discovered that users felt that, as the organisation grew, its activities had naturally shifted (with the Earthshot Prize becoming so much more than just a prize, but a platform for scaling solutions), and the messaging had been diluted. Therefore a new story needed to be told – one that proudly introduced the organisation to an ever-growing audience. We also used the opportunity to speak directly to users to crowdsource ideas for the website’s “get involved” section.
With these insights and ideas, The Earthshot Prize team reshaped the organisation’s website into a robust design that can grow with them and serve their audience effectively for the coming years [website live now].
Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), foundational research
Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), a charity dedicated to funding world-class type 1 diabetes research, conducted extensive user research with the agency 93 Digital to relaunch its UK website. The user research informed the design, user journeys, content strategy, information architecture and wireframes. The research provided solid foundations for relaunching the website in a way that resonated with its diverse audience of people connected to type 1 diabetes, funders, and researchers in a user-centric way. The research also helped identify key user journeys; for example, it identified that JDRF’s lived experience content was highly valued and helped people feel reassured and supported, generating a sense of hope and learning from peers’ experiences. The findings that JDRF handed over to Pixeled Eggs helped our design team create a website that emphasises the organisation’s role as a trusted source of information. Through an informed design system, the website can surface the right content based on audience knowledge and intent. [website live now].
“Through conducting UX research ahead of our website project, JDRF gained invaluable insights into our audiences’ needs and preferences. By involving people with a connection to type 1 diabetes, we were able to balance the clinical nature of JDRF’s cutting-edge research with a warmer, more people-focused brand centred on togetherness, positivity and a shared mission. The research helped shape our design and strategy; the result has been a much improved user experience, with a 19.6% increase in user engagement since launch.”
Kate Lawton, Head of Digital at Breakthrough T1D
The confidence gained from design research
Research during the design phase of the project is often called ‘design research’ and aims to understand how users found the experience designed for them. This phase’s research type is more like a series of testing activities rather than exploratory interviews.
Practical Action, design research
Pixeled Eggs ran three user testing experiments for the international development charity Practical Action to refine the website’s information architecture, which had grown and become confused over time. For our first test, we used a card sorting exercise (with the tool Useberry) to understand how their audience would cluster content categories. When we reached a consensus on a new architecture for the website, we ran a tree-testing exercise with 300 participants to understand how audiences would fare when looking for information in the new design. After amending that design again, we finally created a mid-fidelity prototype, which we tested again to ensure it was truly as intuitive as we’d hoped. The result of those efforts is confidence that the team’s changes to the website will allow users to locate important information, engage, donate and avoid frustration and drop-off [revised website live later in 2024].
“We were very keen to include audience research as we sought to simplify our website navigation. It’s always fascinating to see how different people interpret the same information, and our research allowed us to test our assumptions, settle internal debates and feel confident in creating a menu that will work best for our users.”
Nicky Hand, Digital Manager at Practical Action
The care shown in post-launch research
The last research phase is ‘post-launch research’, which seeks to answer the question “Did we succeed?”
This is where checking the product’s performance and testing areas that are under-performing can lead to further improvements. One way of staying on top of website performance is by regularly checking the analytics via Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or paid tools such as SE Ranking. But while these quantitive metrics can be effective in learning what users are doing, it’s only qualitative research that can tell us why they are doing it. Therefore, once a particular user behaviour (or lack of behaviour!) has been spotted in the analytics, further research and tests could be carried out in the form of interviews with users, or A/B testing activities to understand best whether a different design would achieve the desired user behaviour.
Post-launch research is an act of care for a product—in this case, care for a website that took effort, time, and funds to build and should continue to effectively serve the charity that made it and the audience it addresses.
Charity user research
If you’re planning to design a new website, investing in user research is a great way to build a well-thought-out platform that stands out from the competition. By conducting user research, you can create a tool that your cause can be proud of and that users will love. So, if you want to build a website that lasts and resonates with users, investing in user research is a great place to start!
User research doesn’t have to be costly. Many research activities can be run in-house before a web agency has even been engaged. When an agency is involved, we recommend taking the user research approach: this involves identifying your and your user’s needs and pain points. A good design team will devise a plan to include some research because research is an investment and will always yield a return.
Charity Digital Skills empowering charities in 2024
Pixeled Eggs’ Journey with the Charity Digital Skills Report 2024.
Charity Digital Skills Report 2024
The Pixeled Eggs not-for-profit client journey began 12 years ago, working with organisations such as Macmillan Cancer Support and ONE.org. We have grown and established ourselves in the charity sector through our founding principles of being a responsible and sustainable business. In addition to a loyal charity client base that refers to and advocates good work, today, our clients include a wide range of causes, from Diabetes UK, The Earthshot Prize, MS Society, Practical Action, Digital Catapult, Nesta, and Brainkind. We now support charities and purpose-led organisations of all sizes.
Beyond our charity website design and development work, we have supported the sector through activities such as our Charity Comms partnership and working with BIMA to produce an industry-standard benchmarking report of charity websites.
Aligned with these principles and our continued support for the sector, we’re pleased to announce that in 2024, Pixeled Eggs has formed a partnership with the Charity Digital Skills Report.
Previous respondents commented on how it gives them the time to step back and reflect on what they need and the barriers to digital adoption. It also helps to spark ideas, explore new areas, and learn more about relevant digital topics and tools. If you’re a not-for-profit organisation in the UK, a voluntary, charity, or social enterprise, and you are at any stage with digital, I encourage you to take part in the survey.
The Charity Digital Skills Report was founded in 2017 by Zoe Amar. It’s since become the annual barometer of charities’ digital skills, attitudes and behaviours. It also provides data and analysis on these areas and tracks critical success factors for digital transformation, including leadership, funding, governance, and strategy.
Many charities across the UK use the report to benchmark themselves, provide credibility to funding bids, and understand the key digital skills and trends across the sector and what they need to do about them. It’s become an invaluable resource for charities and organisations supporting them, helping them measure progress with digital and set their aspirations for the future.
What our partnership looks like:
Our conversations started with Zoe Amar and the team in 2023, as we regularly used the report to understand the sector’s position, barriers, and opportunities for digital adoption. We were excited to talk about how we can support and empower the not-for-profit sector, give back, and create a partnership that enables us to provide our expertise and support.
- User testing and feedback, we helped review the 2024 survey, feeding into areas to explore and benchmark further.
- As an organisation that includes sustainable design in our work and services and in response to the need to consider a sustainable marketing mix, this year, we’ve helped shape the report to survey the sector’s position on climate change and digital best practices. Last year’s survey reported that 37% were keeping an eye on their tech carbon footprint, up from 27% in 2022.
- We’ll publish joint content on topics relating to the report findings and outcomes from expert guidance, best practices, real-life learnings, and case studies. Check out the Zoe Amar Digital blog in the coming weeks and months.
- Webinars and clinics to help the sector overcome barriers make learnings and practical actions to improve their digital estate.
“As co-author of The Charity Digital Skills Report, I’m thrilled that Pixeled Eggs is partnering with us for the 2024 edition. Their purpose-driven approach to creating exceptional digital solutions perfectly aligns with our mission to foster digital excellence in the charity sector. By leveraging Pixeled Eggs’ expertise, charities can unlock their digital potential, amplify their impact, and drive meaningful change. Together, we can empower charities to thrive in the digital age.”
Zoe Amar, Co-author of the Charity Digital Skills Report
Key outcomes from 2023
The 2023 report uncovered many key and relevant trends for Pixeled Eggs, from digital trends such as the sector’s adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to supporting causes through the cost-of-living crisis and the sector’s approach to diversity, equality, and inclusion as a digital agency.
In 2023, 504 respondents took the time to respond. These organisations were representative of all sizes (73% income of up to £1 million) and levels of digital adoption, with 52% of respondents being at the early stages. This year, as we reach the final week of the survey, we’re already at 420 respondents.
Regarding accessibility and inclusivity, it is promising to see that in 2023 over half of the organisations were led by people with a lived experience, showing a connection and shared story of the causes they are supporting. Meeting the needs of a diverse audience was a priority for 45% of respondents. 58% are fair at creating accessible and engaging content. However, 14% were worried about excluding people from digital services. In our experience, this needs to be considered throughout the design process, meeting WCAG standards and prioritising based on severity, frequency and primary user journeys.
In 2023, 59% of charities wanted to improve digital fundraising. In response to this, Pixeled Eggs CEO and Founder Sepas Seraj will publish our best practice tips on boosting donations through your website.
79% of charities saw improving their website, digital presence or social media as the greatest priority. In particular, 39% were finding their website challenging. Importantly this doesn’t mean that a project has to start with a redesign or development and be approached by an adequate support and maintenance offering. Making user-centric enhancements and features, understanding pain points through UX/UI audits, content optimisation workshops and UX research. If you’d like to explore your options on whether improvements can be made to your existing website or if a focused redevelopment project is more efficient, we’d be happy to have an informative and supportive discussion.
When it comes to funding, 46% of causes relied on grants from funders to cover digital costs. However, in comparison to those looking to improve their digital presence, only 21% of organisations had funding for developing their websites.
Additionally, only 5% were able to secure funding for user research. We’ve got an upcoming blog on Zoe Amar Digital discussing precisely this, the stages and benefits of user research and how to approach it as an investment with long-term time and money savings. Promisingly, with equality, diversity, and inclusion in mind, over 54% said that development was informed by user research in diverse communities.
These trends help us understand the charity and social sector, aligning our insights and common learnings. We look forward to 2024, the changing trends, and how we can support charities in improving and closing the digital skills gaps.
Through our partnership, we hope to increase awareness of sustainable and inclusive/accessible design. Reflecting on the previous year’s results and the need to improve websites, we look forward to providing guidance and support to the sector to make this a reality.
Charities in need: The state of website performance in the third sector
An audit of over 400 small and mid-sized charities in the UK.
The 2020 report “Charities in Need: The State of Website Performance in the Third Sector” by Pixeled Eggs, ENGINE, and the BIMA Charities Council reveals a stark reality for small and mid-sized UK charities in the digital landscape. As the sector faces unprecedented challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic, a strong online presence has never been more critical.
This report addresses a key gap by evaluating 411 charities with incomes between £100,000 and £10 million. It contains a clear and repeatable methodology to assess their usability, technology, and platforms.
The effect of the coronavirus on the sector has seen fundraising for the sector down, income and donations are down and delivering core services at a huge level of complexity puts the sector at a pinch point.
At a time of need, the sector needs to increase and improve its digital presence and experiences.
Key findings:
- Only 2% of audited websites achieved an “Excellent” grade.
- 41% of websites were rated as “Poor” or “Terrible”.
- 11% of charities had no website, while 5% had fatal issues with their existing sites.
The report highlights significant gaps in both technological implementation and user experience:
- One-third of organisations received a “Poor” or “Terrible” grade for technology.
- Mobile websites consistently underperformed their desktop counterparts by about 10%.
- 9% of charities lacked a mobile version of their website entirely.
A call to action
This report serves as a crucial benchmark for the sector, highlighting the urgent need for charities to prioritise their digital presence. By improving their online experiences, charities can better serve their beneficiaries, engage supporters, and ultimately increase their impact in these challenging times.
“The findings in this report are just one step on a longer journey charities will need to take to review their digital journeys in light of the pandemic. Some findings will be a wake up call to charities who have neglected digital in the past, and some findings will read as a pleasant surprise to those charities that have got it right.”
Chris Flood, Co-chair of the BIMA Charities Council.
