RAD Campaign has been Defenders of Wildlife’s web agency since 2013.
Throughout our partnership, we’ve worked with them on all aspects of their digital presence — supporting their main website, microsites, CRM implementations, fundraising and API integrations, social media strategy to boost audience engagement, SEO, analytics setups, email programs, and more. We regularly refresh key landing pages as part of our ongoing support work, and lead UX audits to further optimize the site for conversions.
RAD Campaign has been Defenders of Wildlife’s web agency since 2013.
When we first started working with Defenders of Wildlife, they were struggling with an overly-complex and inflexibly-built website from a previous website vendor and they couldn't afford to rebuild it. RAD teamed up to help them prioritize iterative design and functionality improvements focused on top trafficked pages. This included revamping a homepage to offer more relevant content and prominent calls to donate, as well as key sections of the site like their blog and Wildlife and Wild Places pages.
Five years into our partnership, we tackled a full redesign of Defenders.org. The goal of the project was to retool their site to better serve their advocates and current and prospective members, with a strong focus on integrating engaging content with calls to take action and donate.
The new site has greatly increased Defenders’ ability to spur website visitors to action through a deeper understanding of the challenges wildlife and ecosystems face in the modern world, as well as the ease of built-in starter donation forms and email sign-ups — easily placed on pages in a variety of layouts, designs, and custom lightboxes. We continue to work with Defenders of Wildlife on integrating fundraising best practices that includes A/B testing to optimize conversions and increase donations.
Our Strategy
- Consolidated separate websites into one open source CMS (Drupal) for easier content management and integrated messaging — focused on mobilizing people to protect wildlife and wild places.
- Simplified an overly-complex navigation and taxonomy to connect content related to issues, wildlife, wild places, and more.
- Created robust and flexible templates using Drupal's Layout Builder functionality, allowing Defenders to build new landing pages to fit whatever they need.
- Customized lightbox functionality to allow Defenders to set up and schedule pop-up boxes, including starter forms such as gift amounts that link to donation pages, and email and mobile signup boxes.
- Implemented automated integrations with Medium, so Defenders of Wildlife can continue to engage with the audience they had built there.
- Set up API-level CRM integrations with Defenders of Wildlife’s CRM tools, syncing new action pages with new Drupal content pages.
Results
A comprehensive website redesign optimized for SEO elevated Defenders of Wildlife's SEO score to 92%, strengthening organic search performance and helping more supporters discover Defender's work to protect wildlife. Combined with much faster page speeds, and ongoing A/B testing, the improvements more than doubled donations on key landing pages, increased homepage donations by 37%, and reduced page load time by 21%.
CRM Implementation
RAD supported Defenders of Wildlife’s move from Luminate to Engaging Networks, implementing page templates and email themes for a variety of layouts and conversion pages. The implementation included custom features such as an upsell lightbox to turn one-time donations into monthly gifts, handwritten prompts to highlight monthly gifts, a homepage fundraising takeover template, and more.
Website Optimization
Defenders is always looking for ways their website can better serve their advocates, current and prospective members — with a strong focus on engaging content integration with calls to take action and donate.
Not only is their site designed to optimize their ability to spur website visitors to take action, through a deeper understanding of the challenges wildlife and ecosystems face in the modern world — but the tools to convert are built in with a variety of lightbox options, donation forms, and prominent advocacy features and easy to place callouts.
A/B Testing
We consistently recommend and help implement A/B tests on the website to help Defenders identify ways to improve conversions and calculate the value of certain placements, visuals, keywords, etc. Using Google Optimize, our testing, design, and development resulted in key landing pages generating double the online donations.
Adoption Center
After phasing out their wildlife adoption program a few years ago, due in part to challenges with the e-commerce platform they used, Defenders re-launched a new, lightweight test using Engaging Networks’ Symbolic Giving pages. We helped them configure their templates to work with the shopping cart and shipping experience, and found ways to make the functionality work for their custom needs.
TV Series Marketing & Optimization
Defenders enlisted RAD to help with the digital marketing of their new TV show, Wildlife Nation with Jeff Corwin, helping with the setup of a landing page about the show that connects users to additional content and includes custom tracking on all actions, donations, and email sign-ups so Defenders can see their ROI.
Ongoing Web Support
Our ongoing support partnership allows us to help Defenders with iterative design and functionality improvements. On a regular basis, we work with them to update and refresh the website, streamline content, test and learn — and put those insights into practice to increase conversion rates, donations and email sign-ups.
Based on our testing, design, and development work, we’ve been able to help Defenders double donations on key landing pages.
Our work includes:
- Maintain accessibility, responsiveness, fresh layout and design across the site.
- A content design approach that connects across desktop, mobile, and tablet.
- Optimizations tied to conversion goals for email sign-up, advocacy and donations.
- Consolidates and connects their work across different wildlife, habitats, and issue areas to serve multiple audiences, catering to both skimmers and deep-divers through the same landing pages.
- Ongoing Homepage, key landing and section updates.
- CRM support and theming to integrate and style donation pages, actions, and conversion opportunities.
- Website design and layouts that serve their advocates, current and prospective members.
- Showcase their work for their audiences and advocates in a way that forges an emotional connection through the use of big and bold imagery.
Using a modular, cross-referenced content architecture, the website highlights the vast breadth and scope of Defenders of Wildlife’s work, and emphasizes how much of it is interconnected. It’s greatly increased Defenders of Wildlife’s ability to spark website visitors to take action through a deeper understanding of the challenges wildlife and ecosystems face in the modern world.
