This case study explores the website redesign for Thrive Services, a Not For Profit organisation dedicated to supporting individuals and families in the Lithgow & Blue Mountains areas. Struggling with an outdated website that was difficult to update and lacked vital features, Thrive Services aimed for a complete overhaul with specific goals of growing its online presence, boosting donor engagement, and improving user experience. Through a collaborative approach with MerlinFX, the new website met and exceeded the set goals, delivering a more modern, user-friendly platform that is easier to update, attracts more traffic, and fosters increased donations. The project showcases the significant potential of a well-designed website in helping such organisations effectively serve their communities and fulfil their mission.
Revitalising Community Connection: The Thrive Services Website Redesign Case Study
Introduction/Background
Thrive Services is a Not For Profit organisation that supports children, families, and individuals in the Lithgow & Blue Mountains areas. Founded to build stronger communities, the organisation has long been recognised as a critical provider of essential services and resources for needy individuals. They offer diverse programs, including family support, bill assistance, and community events. However, their website, a key platform for reaching and serving their community, was hard to update, missing key features and thus wasn’t fully supporting their mission.
Objectives/Goals
The organisation had well-defined goals for the website redesign and ongoing support. They sought a more modern, user-friendly design that would be easier to update, improving website traffic through comprehensive information and simplified navigation. They also hoped to boost donor engagement, improve user experience, and increase donations. Specific objectives included growing their online presence, increasing traffic to their website and social media channels, updating events and programs regularly, and enhancing their outreach to volunteers and donors.
Approach/Strategy
The approach to the website redesign involved creating a top-down menu tree that provided a comprehensive overview of the website’s structure, allowing the client to view and suggest changes before the build began. This interactive method enabled a tailored design that addressed all the essential needs and goals of the organisation. Post-redesign, the Thrive Services team was empowered to manage their website content independently – they could easily edit the website and add events and posts.
Challenges and Solutions
During the redesign process, there were challenges, such as ensuring the website was intuitive and easy to navigate, maintaining consistent branding, and integrating new features such as a donation platform and other web forms to serve other stakeholders. These challenges were addressed with a user-centric design philosophy and the introduction of intuitive content management tools. Ongoing updates and support are provided by MerlinFX through a comprehensive continuous care model, ensuring that the website stays current with software updates and security enhancements.
Results/Outcomes
The website redesign has produced positive outcomes in terms of both usability and engagement. User feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, indicating an improved user experience. The introduction of the donation page and the integration of DonorBox for donation campaigns have notably increased the organisation’s revenue, aligning to boost donor engagement and donations.
Lessons Learned/Best Practices
One key lesson was the importance of user-friendly design and intuitive navigation. The introduction of the Donation page and the integration of DonorBox proved particularly successful in increasing revenue for the organisation.
Seamless Staff Transition: Our Comprehensive Onboarding and Support Process for Thrive Services Team Members
We’re committed to robust support for Thrive Services’ team transitions, such as staff leave or onboarding new members. We’ve designed a thorough onboarding process to familiarise newcomers with the website and its opportunities.
New team members gain access to a tailored course and a video library, providing a comprehensive understanding of website operations. In addition, we offer a free Clarity Zoom call to answer any arising questions, with video replays added to the organisation’s training folder for future reference.
Through these efforts, we ensure a seamless transition and consistent digital presence, irrespective of staff changes, facilitating ongoing, effective service delivery.
Future Plans
As technology and user trends evolve, so will the Thrive Services website. Possible future enhancements include the introduction of a Knowledge Base section, using AI to create content and an AI-powered chatbot. MerlinFX continues to invest in software and user trend research, identifying new opportunities for Thrive Services to expand its online service delivery
Conclusion/Summary
The website redesign for Thrive Services has yielded impressive results. It has resulted in increased engagement from stakeholders, made the website easier to use and update, and led to an increase in donations. This case study underlines the effectiveness of a well-planned and executed website redesign and ongoing support in enabling a Not For Profit organisation like Thrive Services to serve its community better and fulfil its mission.
