A successful way to bring change in your neighborhood is through a petition. Getting signatures will give you more power in numbers and provide your friends, fans, and neighbors a chance to express their support for a worthy cause.
Since they can quickly share them with others, internet petitions have superseded the pen and paper counterparts in recent years. You can create an online petition using Strikingly, which you can use to collect electronic signatures and publicize your initiatives. Here, we'll go over how to make a petition website, from research to generating interest and momentum about the petition & the cause.
What Are The Steps To Create An Online Petition Website?
1. Find The Facts About Your Cause
2. Identify & Define The Goal Of Your Petition
3. Create A Project On Strikingly
5. Make A Powerful Petition Homepage
1. Get All The Facts About Your Cause
If you need to know how to make an online petition, understanding the issue is the first step. You must have the facts straight if you want people to believe and support you. Speak with local officials, members of the community, and anybody else who might be involved as part of your research. Additionally, you ought to consult credible reading material and news sources. These sources will assist you in taking a strategic approach to the petition and expressing your viewpoint better.
If you're submitting a petition to request a change in law or policy, be aware of any local, state, or federal restrictions on the petitioning procedure. Depending on these legal requirements, you might need a certain number of signatures before your work is considered legitimate.
You should also find out who is in charge of the current problems. Even if they agree with your point of view, they might only be able to help it if your petition is directed at the correct individuals. Finally, make a note of where the petition needs to be delivered once you've gathered the required amount of signatures.
2. Identify & Define The Goal Of Your Online Petition
A petition isn't just a complaint; it's a call for something to be done. As a result, it's critical to use your research to create a clear understanding of what you're trying to achieve.
Verify first that the change you're requesting still needs to be implemented. If it does, then what are the other barriers preventing it from being implemented? Accordingly, your proposal should change.
Second, present a clear, quantitative, and concrete remedy. Give clear instructions so your audience can recognize your request. Put your objectives and proposals in writing on your online petition website as transparent and open as possible.
3. Create A Project On Strikingly
Give the petition site a name so it is simpler to remember and discuss. Your title should:
- Include a catchphrase (like a slogan) connected to your cause in your title.
- Decide who you want to file the petition against.
- Make use of action-oriented verbs while addressing your audience.
Image taken from Strikingly product
In connection with this, you must select a domain name for your petition website, as this will be the primary platform for spreading the word about your cause. Examine the availability of the domain names you want to use to ensure that no similar domain can confuse your supporters.
4. Choose A Template Design For Your The Petition Site
Start building a website on the petition maker once you've researched the problems you want to solve and determined your objectives. Given the urgency of many petitions, you can consider adopting a template rather than creating the petition site from scratch. Designed by professional designers, you may customize the templates to meet your needs in minutes on the petition maker.
Image taken from Strikingly product
You'll also want your color palette to convey your message powerfully and appropriately depict the topic, just like all other websites. Do you want to give a sense of urgency, somberness, or optimism? Using color psychology, you can intentionally choose colors for your petition website to increase its impact and elicit sympathy for your cause.
5. Make A Powerful Petition Homepage
Many individuals will initially come to your petition homepage. Thus, the website should provide them with helpful information and motivation to sign.
The website's homepage should feature these things in addition to the name of your cause:
- A concise explanation of the problem, your objectives, and your mission
- Images that show the issue
- A call-to-action (CTA) directs consumers to the appropriate form while asking them to sign.
Image taken from a Strikingly user’s website
The main goal is to make it as simple for people to browse and comprehend your petition website. You may boost the likelihood that site visitors will learn about your cause and add their support by enhancing your website's navigation and creating a fluid user flow.
6. Inspired By Your Defined Goal, Write a Purpose
A statement of purpose explains your mission and goals, much like a mission statement does. This statement aids in contextualizing your petition online and persuading potential signees by outlining the nature of the issue, why it needs to be rectified, and your suggested remedy.
This text should be brief and straightforward to skim-read to be as effective as possible. Include uncomplicated details and pertinent facts that form a coherent, logical story. Nevertheless, add only a few details to your explanation, as this could confuse your audience or cause them to lose interest.
Cite your sources once more. These sources strengthen your cause's legitimacy when sharing other people's material.
7. Start A Petition Signature Form
The list of everybody who has signed up to support your cause is the foundation of your petition. You'll need a specific form on your petition website for users to put their names and other information, like their email addresses and remarks, to collect these signatures.
Image taken from Strikingly product
These signatures can be accomplished by immediately integrating Strikingly Forms into your website. On your website's dashboard, go to add a new section, select a form type, edit the design, and submit fields there. Your dashboard will immediately save every submission as a table, allowing you to examine the list of names and other data input on the form.
You can export the data to a spreadsheet or similar digital file to import later. If necessary, it will enable you to assemble your data for printed submission and sync any external signatures with your website database.
8. Add Social Share Buttons
Using social media to spread the facts about your petition is essential. It will help if you encourage supporters to share your petition webpage with their followers and promote it on your social media accounts.
Including a range of social share buttons on your website is essential. To entice supporters to sign and share, prominently display these buttons on your site and adjacent to the petition form.
9. Share The Petition
Boost the searchability of your petition website to attract potential signees. You can achieve this by improving the search engine optimization of your website. This crucial procedure increases the likelihood that people will find your website and fill out the form by making it easier for it to be found on Google and other search engines.
Additionally, incorporate a social media marketing strategy into your SEO efforts. You can spread the word about your petition on social media platforms like Reddit, Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram to encourage people to sign it. Use hashtags wisely to connect with those who aren't already following you on social media but might be interested in your cause.
10. Keep Your Supporters Informed About Your Progress With Newsletters
You want to keep folks from leaving after they sign your petition. On their end, if your petition is for a cause they are passionate about, they will want to be informed about its development. It would help if you held onto these supporters, so you have them as contacts when you need extra help promoting this or other initiatives.
Send email newsletters to your signees updating them on the status of your work using the contact information included in your website's database. You can also set up a free blog to update your website, explain the background of your initiatives, and outline other ways your supporters can assist.
Include supplementary materials to attract more supporters and create an online community. You may also create a forum where users interact and exchange ideas on your petition website. To spread the word about your cause, you can additionally produce other content types, such as podcasts, webinars, vlogs, and more.
Final Words
If you have a cause that needs everybody’s attention, you can’t waste too much time building a website. However, a powerful digital presence is required for a better and faster reach and to create an impact online. Strikingly serves as a much-needed solution for a layman and solves all your worries about how to start a petition online. With the platform, you can quickly build your petition website in minutes. You don’t need the help of a developer, a designer, nor much technical knowledge, thanks to the platform's easy drag & drop interface. Let your cause be the only concern, not building a website! Ten (10) steps and you are already getting your petition signed by supporters!
Did you choose a template for your petition yet?
