Habitat for Humanity - Valley of the Sun
Sure, Habitat for Humanity builds houses. Walls, pipes, insulation, the whole deal. But they're about much more than four walls and a roof. What they're actually constructing is hope, and the foundations they're laying are the basis of dreams for low-income families to become homeowners.
Likewise, Park&Co builds websites. But in the case of the site created for the Valley of the Sun branch of Habitat, our work extends beyond the screen and into the community, with real results. What we built is a place where donors, volunteers, partners and prospective homeowners can share in their passion and dedication for Habitat's mission.
The Donation Situation
The task for Park&Co was not to change the public's attitude about donating to Habitat. A well-known, trusted non-profit, Habitat for Humanity had already engendered more than enough goodwill to procure plenty of generosity. The challenge was deferring the flood of donors and volunteers who were pledging their support over the phone to a new and vastly improved Habitat website. We had quite the construction project on our hands.
Habitat's outdated design made it impossible for individual pages to be bookmarked and viewed again later. That meant that if interested potential volunteers wanted to be able to return specifically to the area of the site designed for them, they had to retrace all their steps to find it. Habitat was still attracting donors and volunteers, but the lengthy, awkward, and confusing sign up forms were causing these supporters to bail out before completing the forms. The fundamental necessity of Habitat for Humanity - community involvement - was suffering needlessly because of poor site design.
Dedicated Design
Our site redesign for Habitat is striking, colorful, inviting and most importantly, usable. It started with an update to the forms. The bold, orange "Donate Online" link found in the same location on each page of the site means users are never more than a click away from helping a family realize its dream. The donation forms themselves now follow web best practices - straightforward, vertical layout with clearly marked fields and heightened security features. Instead of entering all information - from contact information to credit card number - on one long page, donors are taken through an easy to understand three-step process that encourages completion. The site has since seen a dramatic rise in the number of completed forms.
With the foundation for a great site laid down, it was time to furnish the place a little bit. Our team outfitted Habitat with interactive maps of its two Valley ReStore locations. A constantly updated calendar of events details home builds and dedications around the city, with pictures from the events on full display in an extensive online photo gallery. The site's new groundwork is laid in the form of improved online searchability and has yielded a considerable increase in traffic.
The humility and passion of Habitat's Valley of the Sun chapter needed to be reflected throughout the charity's online home. Park&Co took Habitat's old newsletter, which was a cluttered, scanned, unfriendly looking mailer, and streamlined it. Now an e-newsletter to partners and volunteers alike, the new document is a direct complement to the website and a valuable tool for Habitat to spread its message of hope.
The Place to Call Home
Habitat for Humanity does more than build homes, and now their website is more than a place to point your mouse. Both the charity and its online home are run with the simple idea that community drives dreams, and the Park&Co team has made it easier than ever to support the cause of an organization that provides hope and homes to thousands. They love what we've done with the place.