Why Mobile Matters:A Guide to the Mobile Web

Network for Good and PayPalMobile Web White Paper

Why Mobile Matters: A Guide to the Mobile Web

If you work with a nonprofit organization, you know how important your website is to informing and connecting with donors. And you’ve probably given a lot of thought to how that site works to gather donations from visitors.

But a website is a living thing, and to be successful – to make your organization successful – it must evolve over time to meet its users’ needs and expectations. Today, that means taking the mobile web into account.

In this paper, we focus on browser-based mobile web access – one of the most affordable and accessible ways for nonprofits to build relationships with donors. We’ll explore why the mobile web is so important for nonprofits – and what you can do to get the most from your mobile offerings.

Why mobile, why now

An explosion in smartphone adoption

The last few years have seen a sea change in the way much of the planet communicates. Not only have mobile phones become near • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

What is the mobile web, anyway?When we say “mobile web,” we mean any time you use a browser on a mobile device to access the Internet. If you view a website on a phone or tablet computer, you’re using the mobile web. The challenge for nonprofits and other organizations: creating an online presence that works well for both mobile device and computer users, regardless of screen size or keyboard limitations.

Smartphones – mobile phones built on a computing platform that allow users to take advantage of applications and other sophisticated web-enabled features – and tablet computers offer other ways to connect with mobile users, including apps (small, task-specific applications used without a browser) and text messaging (increasingly used for quick messages).

ubiquitous, but smartphones now number over one billion worldwide. Researchers predict that that number will explode to reach 7 billion by 2015 – one mobile device for every person on earth.1

Smartphone adoption shows no sign of slowing. Especially in the last year, smartphone use has skyrocketed; adult smartphone ownership grew from 35% in May 2011 to 45% in September 2012. In 2012, the market reached a tipping point, when more smartphones than traditional mobile phones

were sold in the U.S.2 One result: More and more people are using mobile devices in a way that will profoundly affect philanthropy, just as it has transformed e-commerce.

Mobile devices are popular with a range of users. The 2012 Pew report found that 66% of Americans age 18–29 own smartphones, while tablets are extremely popular with those aged 30–49. Forty-nine percent of black and Hispanic Americans own smartphones, as do 45% of whites. A full 68% of those living in households earning $75,000 or above carry smartphones. And young people and people of color are significantly more likely to use a phone as their primary means of going online.3

Smartphone owners are taking full advantage of the mobile web. A significant 17% of mobile phone owners report doing most of their online browsing via phone. Many do so for convenience, though for some the phone is their only online access point. This trend will continue to grow; Gartner has predicted that in 2013, more people will go online using smartphones than using computers.4

Moving seamlessly from device to device

But smartphones won’t replace laptops or other devices. Instead, people are using all kinds of screens – smartphones, tablets, laptops, and TVs – all the time,

and often at the same time. You can’t think about mobile in a vacuum. It’s not about a website strategy vs. a mobile strategy, but rather about one strategy supported across a range of screens.

When deciding which device to use, people are influenced by how much time they have, what they need to do, their location, and their state of mind. Less complex search on the go? Smartphone. An involved purchase? It may start on smartphone, but it’s more likely to

finish on a tablet or laptop.

Take a trend called “showrooming.” Today, 78% of U.S. smartphone owners use their smartphones in physical stores,5 accessing recommendations, reviews, or price comparisons on the fly. They may then buy something in the store or, even more often, via a phone, tablet, or computer at home. In fact, 67% of shoppers report having started shopping on one device (or in a store), but completing the purchase 1 February 2013 Cisco Visual Networking Index study of global mobile data traffic.2 September 2012 Pew Research Center study on smartphone ownership and use.3 September 2012 Pew Research Center study on smartphone ownership and use.4 April 2011 Gartner study of smartphone consumers.5 March 2012 Ipsos MediaCT study of mobile consumers. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

elsewhere.6 Direct mail is another entry point for smartphone users. If they read your letter and are motivated to give, the tablet or phone could easily be the first device they reach for to learn more about your mission

Expectations – and payoffs – for e-commerce

It’s no surprise that all this use breeds expectations. In a 2012 Google survey, 67% said “a mobile-friendly site makes me more likely to buy a product or use a service.” And 61% agreed with the statement, “If I don’t see what I’m looking for right away on a mobile site, I’ll quickly move on to another site.”7 Mobile users expect the sites they visit to be friendly and easy to navigate, from any device they use to get there.

In the for-profit world, companies are paying attention, for obvious reasons: one in 10 retail e-commerce dollars are now spent via mobile device.8 PayPal currently has 31 million active mobile accounts around the world – more than one quarter of all its customers. In 2011, PayPal set a goal of increasing its total mobile payments by 10% in the next year. Its mobile total for 2012? Fourteen billion dollars, or a whopping 250% increase. And PayPal expects this rapid growth to continue, forecasting $20 million in mobile payments for 20139.

The outlook for mobile philanthropySo how does this affect nonprofits? Well, when it comes to the web, where business goes the nonprofit sector follows. For example, in 2011, over 3% of all PayPal transactions were made from mobile devices. That percentage jumped to 10% in 2012 – the same year nonprofit donations made by PayPal

6 October 2012 comScore study on the multi-device mobile shopper. 7 September 2012 Google study on how mobile-friendly sites affect customer behavior. 8 December 2012 comScore study on the effect of mobile devices on online and physical retail, 9 February 2013 PayPal Press Center: Financials• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

in U.S. numbered 3%. When it comes to technology, trends in retail purchases quickly become trends in nonprofit donations.

How can nonprofits learn from – and make the most of – this trend? First, they must realize that, when dealing with nonprofits, smartphone users bring behaviors and expectations learned from e-commerce. To attract and retain donors, they must meet those users’ needs, giving them experiences that use the mobile web to serve both donor and organization.

Because the decision to give is often impulsive, and because they make it so easy to act in the moment, smartphones have the potential to unleash generosity. Mobile giving, though still new, is expanding rapidly. Learn the basics now, and you’ll be poised to reap the rewards for years to come.

Thinking mobile

So where do you start?

First, adjust your thinking. Remember how fluidly users move from device to device. You can’t just have a “mobile strategy” divorced from your overall web strategy. Instead, think of mobile as just one more way of interacting with donors, a piece of a larger whole.

Second, realize that your website is already mobile, whether you know it or not. Even if you haven’t started thinking about optimization, people are opening your emails and visiting your site on mobile devices right now. One of PayPal’s fundraising partners report views from mobile devices ranging from 10% to a startling 35% of all users10. At a minimum, it’s a good idea to preview all major email campaigns on one or more smartphones to see how they’ll look.

10 January 2013 Data from 6 major PayPal partners in fundraising segment• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

Nonprofits putting mobility to work

One nonprofit organization that has seen great leaps in both mobile access and donations in the past year is Cure Rett, which raises funds for research and treatment of children with Rett Syndrome, a genetic disorder causing seizures and developmental delays. The Cure Rett site is simple, clear, and professional, optimized to look great on a PC screen – and just as good on a smartphone or other mobile device. The site integrates PayPal’s Mobile Express Checkout APIs, significantly improving the payment experience for mobile users. It’s clear that Cure Rett’s investment in mobile optimization has paid off: 36% of the site’s web traffic comes from mobile devices.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

Movember is a global nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of prostate cancer. Each November, the group encourages otherwise clean-shaven men to grow moustaches – and seek out sponsorship for their efforts – to raise money for prostate screening and other male health initiatives. Like Cure Rett, the organization – which embraced mobile users early on – has seen a steep rise in mobile donations in the past year: in November 2011, 8% of U.S. donations to Movember were from mobile devices; in November 2012, that number had risen to 12%. And from 2011 to 2012, Movember’s mobile visitors increased from 18% to 31%.

CEO and cofounder Adam Garone expects that rate to grow even faster in the next few years, with mobile traffic equaling desktop traffic by 2014. Explains Garone, “More mobile traffic has changed our technology strategy – we’re now just as focused on the mobile experience as we are on the desktop experience.”

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

Getting started with mobileWhere do you start if you want to make the most of mobile access to your site? Going mobile can feel overwhelming, but you can start with a few simple steps:

Find out where you stand.

Set your priorities.

Implement best practices for the mobile user experience.

Find out where you stand

First, understand how people experience your website now. Go to your site traffic analysis page and see what percentage of visitors are coming from mobile devices. Then count on that number rising every month for the next few years, as smartphone adoption climbs.

Next, commit to thinking mobile when it comes to email. Any marketing emails you send to donors should be previewed on a mobile browser, and any problem you find addressed immediately.

You’ll also need to start thinking about what your website looks like on a mobile device. Use the free GoMo site to find out how your most important pages (home, donation, etc.) measure up on the small screen.

Set your priorities

Once you have a sense of how smartphone users experience your site, it’s time to prioritize. You don’t have to do everything at once, and you don’t have to do it all yourself. Designate a “mobile champion” within your organization, and work together to determine your most pressing needs.

We suggest focusing on those aspects of your web presence that most affect the donor experience and whose improvement offers you the biggest ROI. That means, first and foremost, your donation page – when people read your emails on smartphones and click to donate, you need that experience to work on mobile. People can muddle through most of a site on a smartphone, but your average donation form shrunk down to a tiny screen is nearly impossible to use.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

“More mobile traffic has changed our technology strategy – we’re now just as focused on the mobile experience as we are

on the desktop experience.”-Adam Garone, CEO and cofounder, Movember

A few tips for optimizing your Donations page:

Make it easy for people to donate from any point on your site by putting a Donate button at the top and bottom of each page, including the home page. Use color to make it stand out.

Keep the Donations page as simple as possible, with clear, directive text. If information can go elsewhere on your site, put it there.

Make the donation experience short and to the point, to maximize completed donations. If you use PayPal for donations, remember that we’ve already collected the donor’s name, email and mailing address – no need to ask for these up front! Autofill also saves time and tying.

Combine smartphone autodetection with a pledging option that lets donors complete their donation later on (perhaps from a laptop or desktop computer). You’ll end up with happier donors – and more completed donations.

Implement best practices for the mobile user experience

Once you’ve optimized your donations page, it’s time to look at how mobile visitors experience your site overall. A few best practices that will help you optimize for mobile use and support anytime, anywhere giving:

Be aware of how long it takes web pages to load. Keep load times under 5 seconds – under 3 seconds is even better.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

Minimize data entry whenever possible. Autofill options can help users avoid lengthy typing sessions.

Limit the need to scroll by using expandable sections to keep relevant content front and center.

Make sure links and buttons are large enough to click on from small screens.

Allow users the option of checking out as guests, skipping lengthy login processes.

Use mobile-optimized PayPal products as a payment option – it helps reassure donors that their checkout will be secure and easy.

Keep your design simple and clean – a good idea for any site, whatever the accessing device.

Consider creating a mobile-optimized mini-site automatically detectable by smartphones. You don’t have to put your entire website offerings on such a site – just the most important parts. And Network for Good’s DonateNow service can handle the autodetection.

Network for Good and PayPal: a strong mobile partnership Mobile is a reality, and it’s here now. When people open your emails or view your site on a smartphone or tablet, when their mobile experience is positive, great things can happen. Start taking small steps to make the most of the mobile web, and you’ll see real rewards today and in the years to come.

Even with these guidelines, taking full advantage of the mobile web can seem overwhelming – but we can help.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper

PayPal is the faster, safer way to pay and get paid online, via mobile devices and in stores. It enables nonprofits to tap into donors at the moment they are most motivated to act by accepting donations online, from mobile phones and social media sites. Currently used by more than 300,000 nonprofit organizations in the U.S. alone, it processed more than $4.6 billion in donations in 2012.

Network for Good, a leading platform for online giving, has processed more than $800 million for over 80,000 nonprofits. Its services help nonprofits raise money and engage supporters through websites, mobile-optimized microsites, and social networks – so they reach more donors and attract more online donations. Together, Network for Good and PayPal are offering DonateNow, an all-in-one solution that helps nonprofits optimize their online and mobile fundraising. This solution provides a hosted and secure donation page that automatically displays differently on computers vs. smartphones. All the best practices recommended in this paper are reflected in the product, including PayPal mobile checkout.

For great ideas on how to optimize your site for the mobile web, visit Network for Good and PayPal. Or contact us directly to discuss your needs:

Tanya Urschel Katya AndresenNonprofit Engagement, PayPal COO and CSO, Network for Goodnonprofit@paypal.com katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Network for Good and PayPal Mobile Web White Paper