After researching and testing over the last year, the Stepfamily Foundation received a new website which allows mobile users to access the site on their mobile phones. Part of the research plan included finding a platform that was easy to use and update and publish the content on social media. Additionally, the traffic on the site showed about 30% of users were accessing the site via iPhones and Android phones. This was a crucial factor in revamping the website recently. Additionally, the site that the organization was using for the past 5 years since 2009 was written in HTML which required updates using a third party HTML editor. It was a transitional site until a suitable platform was found that will allow flexibility and ability to add more content and features down the line.
After trying out several website platforms, the two contenders were Squarespace and Weebly. This was a tough call as both platforms were ideal and easy to use for updating and maintenance. But eventually everything came down to budget and the ease of use for the organization. Squarespace Professional Package costs $16.00 per month if billed annually ($192 per year) vs. Weebly Pro package which costs $8.00 per month ($96 per year) .
The changes to the new site includes the following:
- Removed the old flash animated image that was on the old website.
- Added the new Stepfamily Foundation blue logo to the site so the logo represents the brand. This was based on the organizations original logo with the steps and the 3 stick figures.
- Website now includes a mobile friendly feature for mobile phone users.
- Added a blog section to allow updates and posting of podcasts, events and articles. Previously on the old site, this would appear on front page. Previously, this was just too much information on the front page which resulted in high bounce rates.
- Removed all event information from front page and moved it to a new blog section.
- Moved all articles into the blog section and tagged by categories for archiving purposes.
- Podcasts moved to blog section and tagged.
- Reinforced the organizations services by making the counseling and certification seminar services appear on front page with a brief summary and a "Learn More" button to allow visitors to visit the pages for more information
- Added links to social media buttons on the top right of the page.
- Included a search feature to allow visitors to search for information using the site's built in search engine.
- Wrote 301 redirects for old pages from the previous site to redirect to their new URL's on the new site.
Below is a screenshot of the new site:
The Stepfamily Foundation's new website as of April 13, 2014