Soapbox Engage Blog

If your non-profit’s website is in dire need of an overhaul, but you’re having trouble getting your decision makers on board, fear not! We have a list of surefire benefits to justify your cause with a clear cut example to boot.

But don’t just take our word for it. PICnet had the pleasure of working with New York-based non-profit, The Bridge, on their handsome new site. Here’s what they said.

“Soapbox was exactly what we were looking for in terms of sophisticated and search friendly design. We are thrilled with the way our new site looks and functions. Thanks to our PICnet team!"  - Ann R. Hyatt, Director of Development & External Relations, The Bridge

What got Ann so excited? First, let’s look at the before and after shots.

Before

After

Quite the improvement, right? But it’s not just the aesthetics that make a great site. Let’s dive deeper.

As an organization dedicated to the incredible task of changing the lives of the most vulnerable--”people with serious mental illness or substance abuse, the homeless, and people with HIV/AIDS”, The Bridge understands the important role that their website plays in 1) providing easy access to resources to those who need it while 2) raising awareness about the transformative power of rehabilitative services which are woefully underfunded.

Migrating to our Non-Profit Soapbox CMS afforded The Bridge a virtual transformation of their own, with the following benefits:

1. improving user accessibility The old Bridge site was heavily image based which made pages load at a crawling pace and didn’t allow users to copy useful text and resources easily. The new site is much more intuitive to browse and find the information you need quickly.
2. improving SEO Along the same lines, if a site is difficult for users, it’s difficult for Google to crawl as well. The new site opens up a wealth of text-based resources to search engines and will help more of those in need find what they need.
3. easy to use CMS The Bridge staff struggled to keep their site populated with fresh, compelling content with their old clunky platform, but now that they have the power of Joomla and Non-Profit Soapbox behind them, they are happy accidental techies.
4. adding blogging and commenting functionality With their upgraded CMS, The Bridge is now able to maintain two vibrant blogs (main blog and a program blog) to spark conversation around the issues they care about.
5. leveraging embedded media Again, thanks to Non-Profit Soapbox, The Bridge can now easily include embedded media such as YouTube clips and slideshare items like on this page.
6. getting on the social bandwagon Following The Bridge on Twitter is as easy as visiting their homepage, thanks to their ever-useful Twitter feed of recent tweets.
7. learning from your audience How often do you get a chance to take a step back and reevaluate your website strategy? Take a cue from The Bridge: a redesign is a great opportunity to work with focus groups to get feedback and direction for your new site.
8. capitalizing on the wow factor Just look at it! W-O-W!

Now that you’ve got the argument down, get on that Soapbox!