5 Jul 2024
Gorlin Syndrome Group wanted a new website alongside a corporate rebrand. They already had a website with Harvest Consulting that we took over in 2020 but with significant changes to the charity they wanted to ensure their website was more up to date.
Having been involved in charity management for many years, our view is that a charity is just a business that spends its money differently. It’s an over-simplification, but charities should be run more like a business than a hobby project. Some may start as that, but there will come a point where they need to refocus or adopt a slightly more corporate approach… without losing sight of their charitable objectives.
The new branding – and the new website – was to have a more corporate feel, and needed to appeal to a wide audience. It would need to appeal to potential funders, medical professionals and researchers; whilst at the same time being welcoming and accessible to those diagnosed with Gorlin syndrome, their family, friends and supporters.
Technical medical terms are unavoidable but need to be explained in simpler terms to those new to the condition, and seeking reassurance. The charity wanted to be seen as warm and welcoming to those seeking the support of others with a similar diagnosis, yet at the same time be seen as a serious research or campaigning voice when necessary.
They worked hard on getting the balance in their content, whilst we worked hard on getting their new identity weaved into the pages.
As with many other projects, we learnt a lot working with GSG and continue to do so. To have a deeper understanding of a previously unknown medical condition can only be beneficial, but we’ve also been able to provide them with support and guidance based on 20+ years in charity management.
15 Jul 2023
London Dental Surgery Centre (LDSC) approached us for help and advice in updating their website, initially built by another company. Most of the content on the site was still relevant, but they were unhappy with some of the layout and functionality.
Rather than build a new website, we kept costs down by refreshing the current site, cleaning up the styles and layouts, and replacing the site builder that was being used.
They previously had a downloadable PDF referral form, which we replaced with an online form with dynamic sections that show only when appropriate, and the site was moved to our hosting platform.
We’ve loved getting to know the team and the intricacies of GDC requirements. Their social media feeds are automatically displayed on the website and we also monitor their Google Business Profile and Analytics.
6 Jun 2020
The UK ‘arm’ of a larger organisation, Malaikia Kids UK approached us to discuss a new website which would be separate from the international sites that were in place, and focus on information relevant more specifically to the UK Charity and its supporters.
The Trustees had a very clear idea of how they wanted the site to look, including fonts and colour palettes. This is important: a website is an online representation of a business, charity or organisation; and the layout, style and colours should reflect the brand and match other materials. We brought their ideas and designs to life in a digital form, ensuring ease of navigation and retaining a clean and uncluttered interface that showcased the information stakeholders and supporters were likely to want to view.
There are generally two key requirements that a charity wants on their website: governance and compliance information, such as their structure and annual reports; and opportunities for supporters to engage, support and donate. To help achieve the latter we added a ‘wiggle effect’ to the donation link in the menu and added a relatively unobtrusive popup inviting site visitors to subscribe to the monthly newsletter.
For ease of management, we connected the RSS feed from their email newsletter so that a new post is automatically created on the website each time a newsletter is sent out, making the information accessible to a wider audience as well as providing a ‘back catalogue’.
As major fundraising activities are arranged – Royal Parks Half Marathon, for example – we update the site to promote those, along with custom registration forms for people who are interested in taking part. Information submitted on these forms is automatically sent to the relevant organisers as well as populating a spreadsheet and automatically adding new supporters to their mailing list should they wish.
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