A total of 16 of the top 100 fundraising charities still fail Google’s ‘mobile-friendly’ test, down from 33 last year.

Civil Society News analysed the top 100 fundraising charities last April, as listed in the 2015 Fundraising Directors Survey, after Google unveiled its new mobile-friendly test. The test was introduced after Google started rolling out changes which mean that websites deemed to meet the tests would be tagged as such and appear more prominently in search results.

It revealed last year that 33 out of 100 charities had not met the test. This has gone down to only 16 charities this year. Additionally, of those charities that did not pass the test, several said that they had mobile-friendly websites currently under development.

All sites which failed Google’s test (listed below) were then checked using an iPhone.

A spokeswoman from veterans’ hospital charity Erskine said that it was Civil society News’s article last year which “helped prompt an allocation of budget” to update its website.  

She said: “These things do take a little time to get organised, but I am delighted to say that we will be launching our new, mobile friendly website at the end of April.

“With so many of our supporters accessing our website from a variety of mobile devices it will be of great benefit to Erskine and indeed to the families of ex-service men and women looking for our support.”

Mobile-friendly websites under development

Blind Veterans UK said that they are in the process of developing a new website, while Guide Dogs is currently undertaking a new digital strategy and hopes to launch a new website in July. It said that some of its pages have already been mobile-optimised.

Zarina Casey, PR and marketing manager at Blind Veterans UK, said: “It is extremely important to us to ensure that all users accessing our website can get to the required information about Blind Veterans UK. We want to make it as easy as possible for all visitors to the site to learn more about the practical and emotional support we provide blind and vision-impaired veterans and how they can help us continue our vital work.

“Our brand new website is currently in development and will be launched in the next few months. The core purpose of this is to ensure that the site is mobile responsive and accessible to all of our audiences.”

Nick Hodder, head of digital at Guide Dogs said: “As a charity that works to break down barriers to enable people with sight loss to enjoy the same freedom as everyone else, we are consciously striving to ensure that access to our content, whether online or offline, is available for everyone.

"We have been implementing our new digital strategy for the past 12 months, which will result in substantial changes across all of our platforms. We have undertaken a UX (user experience) design process with a range of people we support, as well as staff, in order to ensure that we can provide the best possible website experience across all devices.

"We are confidently working towards releasing a responsive website redesign by the end of July. In the interim, some of the most popular pages on the website and e-publications have already been mobile-optimised.”

Lucy Abell, head of communications at Mencap, said that the charity is half way through building a completely new website, which it will launch at the end of June to coincide with Learning Disability Week. 

She said: "The new website will be fully optimised and highly accessible across all devices, and will include new features such as a community for our local groups and a highly accessible search for information and advice for anyone connected with learning disability.

"We know we are a bit late to the party as far as mobile friendly websites go, but we have used the last year to do a huge amount of user research and testing with people with a learning disability, their families and carers, to find out exactly what they want. We have used this as an opportunity to not just make our website mobile friendly, but to totally rethink how we engage with our audience online."

Claudine Snape, deputy director of communications at National Deaf Children’s Society, said that the charity is currently working with an agency to have a new mobile responsive platform launch in the autumn. She said this is part of a "wider, exciting transformation that is happening at NDCS in terms of our approach to digital".

The MS Society is also currently undertaking a digital transormation programme. Mark Whatham, head of marketing at the MS Society, said: “We strive to make sure our site is accessible and provides as good an experience as possible to meet the needs of our audience, putting them at the heart of everything we do.

“But we know that having a mobile-friendly website is a key component in ensuring that all people with MS have access to the support and information they need when they need it. This is one of the reasons why we’re undertaking a digital transformation programme.

“Along with overhauling our website and digital platforms, the programme will involve a review of the ways we use digital technologies to improve the lives of people affected by MS."

The National Theatre said it will be launching a new website this week, which it said will be responsive on all devices. While a spokeswoman for Barnardo’s said: “When we next redevelop our website it will be responsive on all devices.”

Zoe Camper, head of digital at Arthritis Research UK, said: “We are really excited to have started work to make our website mobile-friendly. Whilst we are not as far along in this process as we would have liked to be, we are committed to making sure we do it properly.

“More than 1 in 6 people of all ages struggle with the pain and disability of arthritis and these people are at the heart of everything we do. We want to make the website experience the best it can be, regardless of the device our supporters are using. Our aim is that our supporters will be using a fully mobile-friendly website by the end of this autumn”.

Charities still failing the mobile friendly test*

1. Guide Dogs
2. Christian Aid
3. Barnardo's
4. Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust
5. Parkinson's UK
6. MS Society
7. Arthritis Research UK
8. National Deaf Children's Society
9. Blind Veterans UK
10. Royal National Theatre
11. Bible Society
12. Sense
13. Royal Star & Garter Homes
14. Mencap
15. Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury
16. Erskine Hospital

*Charities appear in no particular order

Additional reporting by Alfie Kelleher.