GiveBack DC: Building WordPress Sites for Nonprofits
What is GiveBack DC?
Months of planning have gone in to finalizing plans for GiveBack DC. As we mentioned in a previous blog, GiveBack DC is a 72-hour code sprint where we will work to build a new web presence for three selected nonprofits. At The Web Development Group, we feel very proud to have been able to gather such a dedicated group of volunteers all of whom are willing to donate their time and skill to this event.
Tomorrow, at 7:00 pm, more than 30 designers, developers, and strategists will come to The Web Development Group offices in Alexandria to finish up the designs and begin the development of each site. All of the websites will be built on WordPress which will allow for the nonprofit’s to have complete control over the content that gets displayed on the site.
Supporting Nonprofits
All three nonprofits are in serious need of a new web presence. DC Diaper Bank is a completely static site built on Blogger. Their new design will incorporate a slideshow, a counter that shows the number of diapers donated, and a map that displays distribution centers. The awesome design team used colors that are welcoming, professional, and coincide with the logo. Our goal was to create a design that will be more user-friendly and do a better job spreading DC Diaper Bank’s message.
Phoenix Bikes has a site that doesn’t work the way it should. If you click “Mission & Vision” you will be taken to an error page. The “Bike Shop” tab is never updated, so all the bikes that they show have actually been sold already. Errors like these hinder their ability to spread their message effectively. The goal of the redesign is to make the site more functional. We are hoping that with WordPress training (all organizations will be given a crash course in managing their new site) Phoenix Bikes will be able to maintain an up-to-date, functional, user-friendly site. The developers and designers took special care to incorporate the vibe of the bike shop into the feel of the website–expect to see bright colors, lots of pictures, and high energy.
The final design is for Borromeo Housing. Their site is currently built on Google sites, which is far from ideal. The overall website now is very text heavy. They do incorporate a slideshow on the homepage but other than that the site is extremely static and difficult to navigate. The Events tab takes you to a Google calendar that is empty. The new site will better incorporate their mission, images, and success stories. The colors will work well with the logo and the Events section will provide a better format for updating.
We are thrilled with all three designs, and the nonprofits seem to be just as happy. We know that these sites will help each of the nonprofits be more successful. A professional web presence will not only help them spread their message but provide their organization with more legitimacy which is obviously something potential donors look for. At The Web Development Group, based out of Alexandria, Virginia, we are always building custom designed WordPress sites so GiveBack DC is a great fit for us. On top of WordPress, we also specialize in Drupal development for the DC area as well as Maryland and North Carolina.
