Tatiana Hadchiti
Due November 13, 2014
RED CROSS PROJECT:
PROPOSAL
The Challenge
The Red Cross “Contacting Financial Donor Services” page is designed to provide
financial donors that have any questions regarding the donation process with ways
to contact the Red Cross. These donors are generally older in age and less techsavvy; the information on this page should, therefore, be clear, concise, and easy to
locate and understand. The tone should be encouraging and supportive in order to
help the donors as much as possible and maintain a close, ongoing relationship with
them so that they keep giving to the Red Cross. It has to be informative yet casual
when listing the steps to follow to send an inquiry. The steps should be not too
wordy and packed with information, but descriptive enough so that the audience
knows exactly how to proceed.
The Current “Contacting Financial Donor Services” Page
Strengths—The current page does have some strong points that are helpful to the
audience when they land on this page.

Bullet points. The use of bullet points on this page is a good idea; they make
it relatively easy to follow and are effective when readers need to quickly
locate information on a page. The first set of bullet points listing the topics of
potential concern is particularly strong as it clearly lays out the topics
without being too wordy. They should be preserved in the revised version of
the webpage. They make it easier for readers to scan the page and find
information pertaining to their situation as quickly and effectively as
possible.

Contacting the Red Cross. The page does tell readers the two ways of
contacting financial donor services: either through the Financial Donation
Inquiry Form or by calling 1-800 RED CROSS, which is exactly what the
audience is looking for when they land on this page.

Inquiry Forms. The Financial Donation Inquiry Form is hyperlinked, so that
readers can easily click on the link and be redirected to the form
automatically. This strategy follows what Jakob Nielsen proposed in his “How
People Read on the Web”: creating hyperlinks in order to make the page less
cluttered with information. It allows reader to easily access the form instead
of looking for it on the sidebar.

Tribute Cards. Mentioning the Tribute Cards in the bulleted list at the
beginning of the webpage is a good way to prompt the readers to use the
Tribute Cards. The parenthetical explanation following the Tribute Card
bullet is also effective in reminding the audience what the Tribute Cards are.

“Gift in Tribute or Memorial” page. This webpage, under the American Red
Cross Bay Area Chapter, has some helpful information about Tribute Cards
that should be emphasized more on the website, namely in a webpage
dedicated to Tribute Cards.
Weaknesses—While this webpage does have it strengths, it is difficult to
understand and the information provided can be unclear.

Bullet points. While the use of bullet points can be effective, the ones on this
page do not quite facilitate looking for information; rather, there are so many
that they lose readers and it is therefore difficult for them to find the
information they is looking for.

Contacting the Red Cross. While the reader is, eventually, able to find the
two ways of contacting the Red Cross, they are difficult to locate. The
Financial Donation Inquiry Form is located in the middle of the page and the
phone number is stated in the last sentence.

Inquiry Forms. The readers are introduced to the Financial Donation
Inquiry Form in order to send an inquiry regarding the donation process.
When readers look at the sidebar, they must choose between the Financial
Donation Inquiry Form and the General Inquiry Form. On this page, there is
no explanation distinguishing the two forms from each other. One is solely
for questions regarding financial donations, but why aren’t the two forms
simply condensed? Both forms ask readers to fill out the exact same
information. What is the logic behind this separation? The webpage doesn’t
make this distinction clear.

Tribute Cards. While the Tribute Cards are mentioned in the list of topics of
potential concern, they are not emphasized throughout the website. It is
difficult to understand what exactly a Tribute Card is and how to use one to
make a donation. There is no webpage that explains Tribute Cards and how
to use them. They should be more present throughout the website.

Language. Some of the language used throughout this webpage can be
changed. For example, the second sentence begins with “Our goal is to
restore your confidence in the giving process.” The use of language here is a
little negative; the readers have not necessarily lost their confidence in the
giving process, but implying it can make them start to believe it.
Recommendations
Provide explanations. The reader could really benefit from an explanation
distinguishing the General Inquiry Form and the Financial Donation Inquiry Form.
Both forms ask the reader to fill out the exact same information; if that is the case,
then why separate the forms? The readers that will land on this page are older and
less tech-savvy, and will need the clearest and most concise information that can be
provided in order to hold their attention. Just a sentence or two explaining the
difference between the two forms will help answer one of the questions they have.
Make the ways of contacting the Red Cross clearer. While the two ways of
contacting the Red Cross regarding financial donations are there on the page, they
are difficult to locate. Instead of putting one in the middle of the page and another at
the end, put them both towards the top of the page, bolded, in another color, and
indented. Formatted this way, the form and the phone number will stand out to the
readers, and it will be easier for them to have their questions answered.
Omit the second half of the page. There are too many bullet points on this page.
While the bullet points addressing the topics that could be of concern are useful, the
second set of bullet points listing the information that will be needed in order to
submit the inquiry form do not benefit the reader in any way. Readers can’t even fill
out all that information on the “Contacting Financial Donor Services” anyway, and
listing it is futile. The readers that will be visiting this page will get lost in all the
bullet points; minimal use of bullet points is more effective.
Revise some of language used. This page should be as positive and helpful as
possible; instead of “restore your confidence,” it should say something along the
lines of “Our goal is to facilitate and expedite your experience in the giving process.”
Also, the first two sentences are a little wordy; revising those sentences and making
them clearer and more concise will captivate the attention of the readers.
Additionally, the Red Cross should have a “thank you” message as the first sentence,
to make the page more personal and connect more to the readers.
Emphasize Tribute Cards. Tribute Cards are an easy and important way to donate
to the Red Cross, and they should be given more importance on the website in
general. The “Tribute Cards” bullet on the “Contacting Financial Donor Services”
page should be hyperlinked and redirect the audience to a separate “Tribute Card”
page. This separate page should be dedicated to describing the Tribute Cards in
more detail and emphasizing how they are an effective way to make a donation to
the Red Cross. The “Gift in Tribute or Memorial” page under the American Red Cross
Bay Area Chapter (http://www.redcross.org/ca/san-francisco/ways-to-donate/giftin-tribute-or-memorial) has some very helpful information about Tribute Cards,
such as why someone would use a Tribute Card as a way to donate, as well as the
different ways to send one (e-cards or printed cards). This information should be
included in the new “Tribute Cards” page in order to address any concerns and
answer any questions an audience member may have about this page.
Make a clearer menu bar. I think that the menu bar can be changed. All of the
current buttons should remain, but there should be a “Contact Us” button (instead of
having to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page) and a “Tribute Cards” button.
The “Tribute Cards” button would direct the audience to a page that explains what
Tribute Cards are, how they work, and how to use them to make donations. The
notion of Tribute Cards is very unclear, and an audience member of any age could
use a little more explanation. The menu bar should follow a layout similar to, say,
Apple.com: the person that lands on the webpage simply clicks the device they want
to know more about, and are redirected to a page that explains what the device is
and the different options associated to that particular device.