WHAT THEY DO

United Way is a global organization that mobilizes communities to address challenges in areas like education, financial stability, and health, working with partners, donors, and volunteers to improve lives and create lasting change.

They envision a world where every person in every community is thriving.

Check out this short video created by United Way SEI:

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OVERVIEW

No Direct Control of their IP

Their website service was holding their domain hostage, they had no control over any server settings, their website was running on a version of Drupal from the early 2000’s, they had limited-to-no access of their back-end files, and the server allowed for incredibly limited file size uploads for images on their website—the limit was 150KB, or .15MB. The average iPhone photo is around 4,000KB/4MB.

Because the back-end system was built before smartphones became ubiquitous, there were no settings or adjustments to improve mobile friendliness for the website.

Moreover, since back-end access was limited, United Way had to rely on the host to make many changes to the site. The host would often lie about performing tasks, take weeks to make simple changes, or simply not respond. United Way was also paying this company for a wide selection of products they didn’t need, while the web host refused to upgrade their service to something modern without extensive fees.

SOLUTIONS

Swap Webhosts

It was perfectly clear that for United Way SEI to thrive, they’d have to ditch their old host. Knowing the laws around domain control and access, Orlof’s forced this company to release their grip on the domain name.

United Way’s URL was moved to a new registrar, where a hosting account was also set up on a modern system with a respectable company.

RESULTS

Arbiters of their IP

United Way SEI now has complete control over their web hosting, domain name, files, emails, and more. They have decreased their yearly web spending.

They eliminated a lot of wasted time and money, as they no longer have to deal with the old hosting company, or pay someone to deal with them. They are now free to focus on the much more important, and impactful parts of their job—improving the lives of people around them.

They can now rely on their requested web changes to be made quickly and easily.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Make sure to always keep control of your intellectual property. If a company isn’t giving you direct access to it, that’s a red flag.

OVERVIEW

Patchwork Website

Their online presence was hurting. Their website looked old, due to it being on such an old system, and the functionality was severely lacking. The menu system and pages were thrown all over the place without any concise organization or method.

The information presented was often inaccurate, antiquated, and/or non-existent. Links were broken, pages wouldn’t load, and the branding wasn’t inline with the global parent company’s requirements—it was a mess, to say the least.

Here are some screen captures from that old website:

 
 
 
 
 
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SOLUTIONS

A New Website

Before moving UnitedWaySEI.org to a new registrar, we first built a shiny new website at the new host—this was a staging site that allowed us to complete the site while the old one was still live.

The new site has a much more concise menu system, unnecessary pages were eliminated, and it was branded to the specifications described by the parent company. Additional and applicable copy was created for pages, since some were barren or outdated, and the user experience was streamlined overall. There are now systems to help the site work better for UWSEI—like a newsletter signup, downloadable forms and promotional documents, online-fillable forms, ADA compliance, a mobile-friendly version, and more.

Once the new site was ready for public release, the URL was swapped to the new registrar/host and, from an end-user’s perspective, the United Way SEI website swapped instantaneously.

Here are a few images of the new website:

 
 
 
 
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RESULTS

Modern Optics

Having a website that’s mobile-friendly and engaging for all users has helped improved public perception, especially from their donors. These past years, UWSEI has seen record-breaking single donations.

By every metric, their web analytics have drastically improved—bounce time, time on site, engagement. You name it, it’s improved.

They now have a place people like to visit, with data and information pertinent to the community, their donors, and people in-need.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Public perception matters, and your website is about as public as it gets. Be sure to invest in your success so others will, too.

OVERVIEW

Disassociated System

Each forward-facing system was operating independently of the others. The website was its own thing. Social media was its own thing. Events, programs, and donations were promoted using 3rd party software and then not integrated into the website.

This was hurting their reach, interconnectedness, and public perception.

SOLUTIONS

Centralize Their Efforts

The website became the hub for a majority of their online endeavors. Social media, newsletters, blog posts, donations, and more were all integrated into the website. Some 3rd party software and systems were changed to improve functionality and integration.

Archives were created for some items, so users could see back issues of things like newsletters.

RESULTS

A Hub

UWSEI now has concrete and solid references for all materials moving forward. They have one location that they can send whomever they’re working with, clearing up a lot of confusion. They can also reference those materials at any time to help improve workflow.

KEY TAKEAWAY

It cannot be understated just how important centralizing and consolidating your data can be. Getting organized will improve your ‘organization.’