This post applies to Cru readers, but all are welcome to glean from this post.
Do you keep your give site up-to-date? If you need a ministry blog or web page, Cru’s give site IS your free web page. You’ll have more visitors soon if you’ve sent your End-of-Year Ask (EOYA).
[UPDATE: 07/31/2025] I recently updated our website and wanted to share my tips to help you create a well-designed site.
Update Your Give Site for Your End-of-Year Ask
Search for Your Site
First, do a search on Cru’s give site for your name.
When I searched for our last name, these results came back (we’re on top in the image below). As you can see, a close-up of our faces helps our friends recognize us. Also, a brand-new ministry partner will appreciate seeing your photo.
Four staff members below us do not have thumbnails for their give sites. When you click over to these Cru staff give pages, they don’t have a photo or a write-up. Unless you minister in a secure area, please take 10 minutes to put up a picture and a paragraph on your free web page at give.cru.org.
The next two have group photos. I recommend the close-up of your faces if your friends are searching for you. Using your ministry photo is fine if you link friends from your newsletter to your give page. I’ll discuss this further when I talk about cell phones.
Your ministry partner can give a gift from the search or click for more information about your ministry.
Let’s get started.
Steps for Updating Your Give Site
If it’s helpful, open our give page in another tab as an example to help you make your decisions for your site.
(Most of the links for the rest of this post only work for Cru staff. I hope the concepts are helpful to my non-Cru readers.)
How to Edit Your Give.Cru.org Site
Go to MPD & Donations
On the right, under forms and tools, click the link to edit your Give.Cru.org page.
Click the yellow button to sign in, and verify with Okta.
Your Photos
Click on the Edit Page button if you haven’t already.
- Click the camera icon to upload or edit the header and “carousel” images.
- If you click outside the Designation Editor window, it will close.
- Upload one photo for the header. Choose a picture that shows your face(s) well or represents your ministry. This image is used for thumbnails on the search page and for your site’s laptop and mobile versions.
- Upload one or several photos in the smaller “carousel” area. These photos will look nicer if they have the same orientation and size. You don’t have to do that, however. They don’t appear on your mobile version of your give page.
We use a portrait for our header image and one family photo in the “carousel” space. (See the above photo.)
The editor stores your previous photos if you want to use them again.
If needed, read how to crop your header photo from last week’s post.
Your Text
This editor may time out if you leave it open too long. I make small changes, save, and then come back in to edit more.
Your Give.Cru.org site is your “elevator pitch.” Keep your text short and meaningful. The more a visitor has to scroll, the more likely you are to lose them. The details can wait for your newsletters. For a laptop, fit your text to one screen. If you need more text, only scroll for one more screen. I know this is hard to do. On my desktop, our photo fills one screen, “who we are” fits on the next screen, and all the giving options are on the third screen.
Writer’s Block? Check these tips for “What (and How) to Write about Your Ministry.”
When you’ve written your content, click on the Edit Page button if you haven’t already.
- Click on the pencil icon to edit.
- If you click outside the Designation Editor window at any time, it will close, and you’ll need to start over.
- Write or paste your text into this editor page.
- See our Give.Cru.org page for examples of fonts and features.
- I have some links in my text. Please dkeep links to a minimum. You want your visitor to stay on the site and give a donation.
- Use headers to break up your text. Your visitor will find it easier to read and understand.
- Header 1 is “Mike and Sus Schmitt”
- Header 2 is “Reaching the World through Technology”
- Header 4 is “Have you ever considered giving in the most tax-smart way?” I also bolded this.
- I used the quote (“) feature for the thank you section. The editor shifts to italics in your window as you edit. You”ll see the yellow vertical line when you’re finished. This makes the thank you stand out.
- Use the separate pencil icon labeled Website for your blog or ministry’s web page.
The Give Buttons
You’ve noticed the two give buttons on the page. If someone clicks in and wants to go straight to donating, they’ll click the top button. Those who read your ministry story will click on the bottom one.
What about Cell Phones?
I used my phone to look up our Give.Cru.org page. The above photo shows how the quote section looks.
As I mentioned, the carousel photo(s) don’t appear. If your ministry partners give through their phones, a good ministry photo might be a better option for the main image. (Again, an up-close photo of your face is better for someone using the search feature of give.cru.org.)
Done Editing and Check
Click the Done Editing button at the top. (If you’re on a public computer, remember to log out!)
It may take a little bit to see your changes. You may need to refresh your browser.
A special note about the give page editor: the “Subscribe to Newsletter” shows up in a browser and on your cell phone for your give site. You will not see it in the editor itself.
It’s always a good idea to check everything after you’re done.
- Do you have a typo?
- Are the fonts, headers, and quotes giving you the look you want?
- Do your links work?
- Do your photos look good?
- How does your page look on your cell phone? On a laptop?
- Can you cut back on your content to limit scrolling?
What will you do to improve your visitors’ experience?
Help your friends! They might not read eQuipping for eMinistry. Think of one or two staff, check their giving site, and then share this blog post with them to encourage them. Let’s get close to 100% of Cru staff with attractive, up-to-date giving sites.
NOTES:
- Other related posts:
- Cell phone and laptop photo by Alejandro Escamilla on Unsplash
eQuipping for eMinistry 