In our house, we’ve moved to instant downloads and AppleTV and we rarely use the DVD player. The other day, my kids got a DVD as a gift, but it came with a digital version, which would surely save me the trouble of having to rip it to my hard drive.

I found the registration code and went to the website. I entered the code, was prompted to download a program, asked to open the program then register the program. I needed to create an account and add the video to the queue. After about 10 minutes, I gave up.

My kids will not be watching this digital version. I rarely do this, but the process was so confusing and complicated that I emailed the company and shared my experience. “If you want people to use your service, you need to make it simpler,” I told them.

Online giving via your church’s website needs to be the same way.

It’s great that you give people the opportunity to create an account and set up recurring giving. But sometimes, people want to make a quick, one-time donation. If you don’t provide that option, you’re missing out.

Amazon learned that the fewer clicks they required, the more purchases people would make. So, here’s my question: How many clicks does it take for someone to make a donation to your church? If the answer is more than 3 or 4, then it’s time to simplify.

Go ahead and give people the option of creating an account and managing their donations. You absolutely need that. But you also need a “Click here to make a quick donation…no registration required” button. EVEN if it means you need to use an additional service provider, make this available to people.