Mental Health Advocates of Western New York
IronGlove Studio® was hired by a mental health-focused nonprofit organization to redesign their website, aiming for a modern, user-friendly, and mobile-responsive design. The project involved migrating existing content, incorporating program pages, events, calendars, mental health screenings, and support group information.
The team implemented a custom backend for easy staff updates and ensured the site was SEO-optimized. IronGlove Studio® delivered a final product that optimized speed, functionality, and flow, receiving praise for their communication and attention to detail. Right technologies were brought together at the right time to strategically meet this client’s business objective.
The nonprofit’s existing website was not user-friendly or mobile-responsive, making it difficult for users to access and navigate. The site contained program pages with events, calendars, mental health screenings, and support group information, all of which needed to be incorporated into the new design. This was not something the organization had planned for when going out to bid.
The features needed to be incorporated into a new design, but the content also needed a sitemap with user flow and structure so the features could be supported properly and make sense to users. The IronGlove team created a sitemap for each page and a flow for users that emphasized education, information, and then action. This was a difficult task as only a basic site was present at the onset of the project and a formal plan had to be approved by MHAWNY leadership.
IronGlove Studio® migrated the existing content and functionality into a new, modern-looking website. They focused on making the site user-friendly and mobile-responsive, ensuring that users could easily access and join programs they were interested in and find relevant information about the nonprofit’s programs.
To achieve this, IronGlove Studio® implemented a custom backend that allowed the nonprofit’s staff to update and change the site as needed. They also made the WordPress site SEO-optimized, ensuring that it would rank well in search engine results. Images were compressed across the site upon initial rollout and iconography and other assets were localized in case of CDN issues.
While no end-user statistics on performance were collected by the client due to post-deployment handoff to a local New York marketing firm, IronGlove Studio® delivered a strong product that optimized speed, functionality, and flow. The team went above and beyond during the engagement, adding UX elements that were not required but greatly enhanced the quality of the site.
The new website offers better flow and navigability for both desktop and mobile users. The custom backend is straightforward, making it easy for the nonprofit’s staff to make changes without being coding experts. Our team attempted to keep the website structure as flat and easy to navigate as possible.
IronGlove Studio® used WordPress with PHP, JavaScript, Sass, and Bootstrap to create the WordPress experience for internal and external users. They integrated Advanced Custom Fields on the backend to create a control mechanism for site administrators to update the content as needed, while using only code for custom theme so that the build is resilient, long-lasting, and easier to maintain.
Additional elements and features were added to the site after handoff to an external firm and were done so in a manner inconsistent with IronGlove’s own development policies. Examples of this are the blog, the additional navbar at the top of the primary navigation element, and some missing or broken iconography due to miscellaneous changes.
Prior to our work with them, we didn’t have a mobile-compatible site. The new site will offer better flow and navigability for desktop and mobile users alike. We don’t have statistics on performance yet, but they completed all of our requirements and requirements effectively. They went above and beyond by including UX functions that we didn’t ask for but will greatly improve the quality of the site. The overall functionality and speed of the website are strong as well. The custom backed is straightforward, so it should be very easy for us to make changes without being coding experts. Their communication and attention to detail were exceptionally strong. Every fine detail was taken care of in a timely manner. We were never waiting for anything.
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