How user research helped Wikipedia double its online fundraising

Billy Belchev Webitects.com

Peter Gehres Wikimedia Foundation

TechWeek 2012 June 23

Source: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserStatistics

Fundraiser statistics 2009-2011 (Daily amounts raised, Nov-Jan)

2009: $8,592,136 2010: $14,584,517 2011: $22,308,784

Up 70% Up 53%

Source: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserStatistics

Fundraiser statistics 2009-2011 (YTD daily amounts, Nov-Jan)

2009: $34.32 Average donation 2010: $27.85 2011: $27.47

People tell you what they think you’d like to hear or what they wish were true.

You focus on what people actually do.

Streamline the donation flow with the goal of increasing the conversion rate.

Lightweight usability testing and interviews.

Iterating through form designs.

Live testing of different form versions for 1 hour on EN.Wikipedia.com

Wikipedia

Wikipedia—donation process optimization

Wikipedia—donation process optimization

Thank you

PayPal Credit card

Landing Banner

One-step

Workflow may vary for other payment methods (bank transfer, direct debit)

Deciding which fields to keep on the form

Every removed field increased the conversion rate.

If some fields are really needed, they can be on a second page.

*Depending on the test parameters. Data at: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2010/Banner_testing

Between 40-50% of Wikipedia donations come via PayPal.

Giving the two buttons equal prominence and visual treatment produced the best overall conversion.

Results

Any other combination hurt the overall conversions.

Usability test comments

I didn’t know they are a non-profit. I am not sure where my money goes. What will it be used for?

I appreciate having this long letter from Jimmy... But I am not going to read it. I’m skimming.

Where your donation goes

I'm a volunteer.

I don't get paid a cent for my work at Wikipedia, and neither do our thousands of other volunteer authors and editors. When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different.

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others. It is a unique human project, the first of its kind in history. It is a humanitarian project to bring a free encyclopedia to every single person on the planet. Every single person.

If all of Wikipedia's 400 million users would donate $1 each, we would have 20 times the amount of money we need. We're a small organization, and I've worked hard over the years to keep us lean and tight. We fulfill our mission, and leave waste to others.

To do this without resorting to advertising, we need you. It is you who keep this dream alive. It is you who have created Wikipedia. It is you who believe that a place of calm reflection and learning is worth having.

This year, please consider making a donation of $20, $35, $50 or whatever you can to protect and sustain Wikipedia.

Thanks,

Jimmy Wales Wikipedia Founder

From Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

Donate by Credit Card

Donate via PayPal

$ $ $ $

$ $ $ $

Make your donation now

Where your donation goes:

• People

• …

• Technology

• …

Where your donation goes

Where your donation goes

Where your donation goes

Best!

Wikipedia—donation process optimization

Wikipedia—donation process optimization

Better!

Donation process and latency

The 1-step form had promising indicators, but wasn’t able to surpass the 2-step in live testing. We strongly suspect it had to do with the high latency of the platform behind the 1-step.

Donation process and latency

Including images of the authors of the appeals always helped. Tremendously.

Banners

The most effective banners may not have the best overall effect.

We got some very high click-through rates with very poor conversion rates.

It’s a balance game.

Banners

Some movement, such as a thermometer or bar, yielded higher click rates on banners.

But performance depended on how full the bar was. Donation motivation increased only when the bar was closer to full.

Banners

It’s not just about the money...

Community matters most.

Banners

Billy Belchev billy@webitects.com @bbelchev

Peter Gehres pgehres@wikimedia.org @in2thats12