The Arc Noble County Foundations took advantage of an opportunity to replace a one-page "brochure" website with a more robust and informative multi-faceted website.
After I met with key members of the organization's staff and guided them through some of the many decisions associated with meeting their vision and needs, I got to work. Some of the things I considered before diving into any new design are:
How many unique landing pages will the site need? Usually, every website has a "home" page, contact us, about us, plus one or more pages that describe the entity's line of work, services, programs, etc.
Does the client prefer a full width, reactive design or a more simplified "contained" layout in which everything appears in a column down the center of the page. The former is considered a bit more edgy, while the latter is traditional and sometimes best suited to sites that are more concerned about clearly communicating key text than about wowing visitors with videos or large format graphics/photos.
What sorts of interactive features will be needed? Will the entity want users to be able to submit any forms or questions, make reservations for events, pay for pledges or services online?
Where will I get the content? Are there existing documents from which I can pull content, or will someone need to create that content from scratch?
May I pull images from other public accounts, perhaps the existing website or social media accounts, or where will they come from?
Once we worked through some of these considerations, I went about making a first draft of a new site. Since my preferred website editor allows my clients to "preview" the site design at any point while in progress and add their feedback/suggestions easily, we kept working through edits until we met their vision and needs. In all, I met with the team at The Arc Noble County Foundations three times and exchanged a few emails to work through requested edits and improvements.
Because I like to create a very collaborative effort, it is in my nature to make "best practice" suggestions along the way, which I hope my clients find helpful. If they don't, that's okay, too. Everything is up to them, in the end. For The Arc's website, those suggestions included things like adding their Guidestar seal and a link to their Guidestar.com profile and a blog to allow them a very simple way to update and add new content to various pages on the site.
Here are a few screenshots of The Arc's original brochure site, as it appeared in February 2021.
BEFORE:
And here are some screenshots of the new website launched in March 2021.
AFTER:
One of the major highlights of his new site was the incorporation of many wonderful photos capturing the joy and happiness of both those who work at The Arc, as well as people who contribute in support of the work and individuals who participate in their programs. These were provided by the staff.
From start to finish this new website was developed and launched in less than five weeks at an investment of less than $1,000, including a full year of hosting services.