ArcStone | Work Case Study: Emma Norton Services

ArcStone

Case Study

Emma Norton Services is strengthening, nurturing, and empowering those on a journey of recovery. Their website wasn't up to the task.

Emma Norton Services is a trauma-informed organization that promotes healing and recovery, operating at a scale that brings a full array of resources to women, individuals, and families who have experienced homelessness. Since they were not able to easily update their website, they couldn't use it to reach their audiences and call attention to the critical services they provide.

Our Role

Blueprint / Strategic Planning
WordPress Website Redesign
Website Optimization
Virtual Event Planning, Production, & Execution

Hosting & Support

Shawna Nelsen-Wills

Advancement Director

“The whole team at ArcStone was amazing to work with—from initial proposal to creation, to a final product. They worked with our budget constraints and brought expertise, compassion, and commitment to each project. Through our partnership, we exceeded our goals for our first-ever virtual gala and created a powerful new website that will help Emma Norton achieve our mission for years to come. It is clear that ArcStone brings excellence to each job and truly cares about its clients and the broader community.”

The Challenge:

The team at Emma Norton Services was stuck.

There had been turnover and nobody on the team knew how to properly manage or update their website. Their former designer had moved on to start a new business and she no longer had time to help them.

On top of that, the site was built with Dreamweaver which created bulky dynamic code, offered limited global styling options, and a confusing interface.

They knew it was time for a website redesign.

Our Approach

Emma Norton Services engaged with ArcStone to design and develop an easy to manage WordPress site.

We needed to make sure our approach considered Emma Norton's two distinct donor personas.

The first persona lacked computer skills and didn't feel comfortable going through an online donation process. In contrast, the other donor persona was tech-savvy and actually preferred to donate online.

In order to accomplish this task, we created a clean website that's easy to navigate, with clear calls to action for donors who preferred to write and mail in a check.

Additionally, the annual Emma Norton Services fundraiser had pivoted from a live event to a virtual one. The ArcStone team collaborated with the Emma Norton Services team to create a virtual gala and auction that engaged all of their audiences. The ArcStone production studio was used to safely shoot video which we were able to use for the fundraiser as well as on their website.

Preliminary Results

Since the site launch, users, new users, and sessions have all seen significant increases.

Furthermore, organic traffic continues to improve, suggesting that our SEO-friendly approach is paying off and that Emma Norton Service's reach is growing.

The end result was an empowered nonprofit team with the ability to update their website, do their work easier, and serve their client better.