Website Conversion Audit

Deer Creek Chorale. This document identifies what is working, where revenue and singer leads are being lost, and what to change to increase auditions and donations. This is a clarity and performance document.

Tickets Donations Singer leads Sponsorship SEO + performance

Purpose and scope

Purpose

Identify what is working.
Identify where revenue and singer leads are being lost.
Define changes to increase auditions and donations.

Scope

Reviewed 14 page-source exports provided.
Spot-checked key live pages (Support Us section) for CTAs and navigation.
Focus: ticket sales, donations, singer applications, sponsorship inquiries.
Secondary: SEO, accessibility, performance, measurement.

Confidential. For Deer Creek Chorale internal review only.

Executive summary

Deer Creek Chorale has a credible, content-rich website. The main opportunity is conversion: visitors can browse easily, but are not always guided to take the next step quickly (buy, donate, apply, sponsor).

What is working

Strong legitimacy: multiple ensembles, active season, community presence.
Clear top-level categories (About, Choirs, Join, Concerts, Support).
Multiple revenue levers exist (tickets, giving, sponsors, fundraisers).

What is costing conversions

Concert traffic is high intent, but ticket actions are not consistently immediate.
Donation flows need faster confidence building and fewer steps.
Joining asks for high commitment too early (long application forms).
Navigation density creates decision fatigue.
Technical hygiene gaps: missing meta descriptions, inconsistent headings, heavy scripts.

Technical snapshot from page-source exports

Meta descriptions missing on 14/14 pages.
Multiple H1 headings on 4/14 pages.
Average scripts per page: 69.5.
Alt text missing on approximately 26% of images.

Quick wins (1 to 2 weeks)

Make one primary CTA dominant on every key page: Buy Tickets, Donate, Apply to Sing, Sponsor.
Add Buy Tickets actions inside the concert list and on event pages.
Use a short Join interest form first, then the full application.
Add meta descriptions for Home, Concerts, Join, Support Us.

Visitor journeys and conversion system

A large site converts when it behaves like four simple landing pages repeated across the navigation: tickets, joining, giving, sponsorship.

Conversion model

Visitor	They want	Show immediately	Primary CTA
Attendee	Buy tickets	Next concert, price, venue	Buy Tickets
Singer	How to join	Rehearsal schedule, steps	Apply / Interest Form
Donor	Give confidently	Impact, amounts, receipt	Donate
Sponsor	Partner	Tiers, benefits, reach	Sponsor Inquiry

Recommendation

Global conversion bar.

Keep a minimal sticky header with four actions only: Concerts, Buy Tickets, Donate, Join. Everything else can stay in the menu, but those four should never be more than one tap away.

Why this matters

When visitors must think about where to click, they leave.
Clarity and speed increase conversions without increasing traffic.

Homepage: the first 10 seconds

The homepage should answer instantly: who you are, what you want me to do, and why I should trust you.

Recommended structure

Hero: one sentence + two buttons (Buy Tickets, Donate).
Next concert: date, venue, one image, Buy Tickets button.
Impact: three numbers (concerts, singers, outreach).
Trust: sponsor logos, testimonial, annual report link.
Mailing list: single-field form with a clear promise.

What to avoid

Too many equally weighted links above the fold.
Sliders that reduce clarity and increase load time.
CTAs that look like normal links (low contrast).

Performance note

Exported pages load many scripts and assets. A lighter homepage hero and fewer above-the-fold modules usually improve mobile conversion.

Concerts: turn a calendar into a ticket path

Concert visitors are high intent. The concerts experience should behave like a store: clear prices, obvious purchase actions, minimal steps.

Concert list requirements

Each event card: title, date and time, venue, short teaser, and Buy Tickets.
If events vary by ensemble, add filters (by choir, venue, free vs ticketed).
If you offer multiple price types, show them consistently and early.

Checkout requirements

Show price before checkout.
Mobile-first: fewer steps and fields.
Trust signals near checkout (secure payment, refund policy, contact).

Plain outcome

One-click ticket actions from the concert list capture impulse purchases.
Multiple clicks and hidden pricing reduce revenue.

Donations: increase trust and completion

Donors need confidence, speed, and a clear emotional reason to give.

Donation page should include

Short impact statement (what gifts fund).
Preset amounts (4 to 6 buttons) + Other.
Monthly giving option visible.
Clear tax receipt and privacy statement.
Simple payment choices (card + PayPal).

Remove these friction points

Long paragraphs before the form.
Multiple competing Donate links.
Unclear naming across pages (Support vs Donate vs Annual Fund).

Tech stack note

Sources indicate WordPress with donation and form tooling (GiveWP/WooCommerce, Gravity Forms). The conversion lever is UX: fewer steps and a cleaner hierarchy.

Join: convert interested visitors into singer leads

The join flow works best as two stages: interest first, full application second.

What we saw

The site uses long application forms with many fields (appropriate for final selection).
As a first step, that level of commitment can cause drop-off.

Recommended two-step flow

Step 1: Interest form (name, email, voice part, experience, preferred ensemble).
Step 2: Full application after confirmation email.
Add “What to expect”: rehearsal schedule, expectations, audition steps.
Add belonging signals: code of conduct, accommodations, welcoming tone.

Plain outcome

Lower friction raises the number of singer leads.
Once intent is confirmed, long forms feel reasonable.

Support Us: make every page a landing page

Support Us is powerful because it offers multiple ways to help. Conversions improve when each page has one primary purpose and one dominant CTA.

Fundraising events

Display fundraisers as a grid of cards (image, date, location, one sentence).
One CTA per card: Attend, Sponsor, Donate, or Volunteer.
Add a short impact section after the list.

Volunteer

Offer 3 to 5 roles with time estimates.
Use a short volunteer interest form and explain what happens next.

Corporate partnerships

Use 3 tiers only, with plain-language benefits.
Add a downloadable one-page PDF and a direct contact CTA.

Commission new works

Explain value (legacy, identity, community impact).
Show a simple process and one example with media.

UX, accessibility, and trust

Accessibility fixes are conversion fixes. Cleaner hierarchy and clearer labels help everyone, especially on mobile.

Navigation

Reduce decision fatigue by prioritizing four actions in the visible header: Buy Tickets, Donate, Join, Concerts.
Add site-wide search and tune results to surface key conversion pages first.

Accessibility priorities

One H1 per page, then H2 and H3 in order.
Reduce missing alt text (measured about 26% missing in exports).
Replace vague links like “Here” with descriptive actions.
Ensure CTA contrast passes WCAG.

Trust signals

Donation and ticket pages: privacy policy, refund policy, accessibility statement, and contact.
Keep design consistent across pages to reduce hesitation.

SEO, performance, measurement, and roadmap

Traffic without conversion is wasted. Conversion without measurement is guesswork.

SEO essentials

Add meta descriptions (missing on 14/14 exported pages).
Unique page titles aligned to intent (Concerts, Donate, Join).
Event and Organization schema for concerts and donations.

Performance essentials

Reduce script weight (average about 70 scripts per exported page).
Compress images, modern formats, lazy-load below the fold.
Avoid heavy sliders above the fold.

Measurement

Track conversions: ticket purchases, donations, join interest submissions, sponsor inquiries.
Use UTMs in email and social to attribute revenue.

5-week roadmap

Week	Focus	Outcome
1	Conversion mapping	Primary CTAs, simplified header, templates defined
2-3	Templates	Concert list with ticket CTAs, donate landing, join interest form
4	Trust + content	Impact copy, sponsor tiers, volunteer roles, accessibility fixes
5	SEO + performance	Meta descriptions, image optimization, tracking, QA

Closing note

Start with tickets and donations for fastest revenue impact.
Improve Join next to build a stronger singer pipeline.