Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary (SAS) is a non-profit agency formed in 1989 to address the issues of women involved in, or at risk of involvement in, the sex trade. Many of its clients have also experienced other related issues, including homelessness, poverty, substance addictions, and violence against women. SAS provides opportunities for these women to reintegrate back into society by transitioning into a healthy lifestyle. It is one of the very few organizations in Calgary that offers a long-term program and ongoing support for its women, including those who arrive pregnant or with children.
Overview
JOI Media became aware of SAS’s need for a superior web presence through its JOI to the World Campaign, which was launched in December 2008 to provide boxes of basic necessities as well as gifts to a number of local shelters including SAS, during the holiday season. As a result of our commitment to social responsibility, SAS felt JOI Media would be the ideal company to build its new website. SAS required a new website that was visually appealing, yet subtle and simple to convey the organizations image appropriately. SAS also wanted to increase the website’s capabilities by creating an events page and also a member only section that could be used and updated by SAS staff.
The Challenge
Organizing the SAS’s comprehensive content in a hierarchy that was logical and intuitive to navigate presented some planning issues, due to the wide range of core information incorporated. In order to include all of the category tabs requested by SAS in the homepage main menu, the entire website design and layout had to be adjusted to accommodate for a longer menu structure. SAS staff also required a Content Management System (CMS) solution that would make the process of updating its Events webpage straightforward, including the addition/removal of upcoming and past events on the embedded calendar as well as the homepage.
Due to the organization’s ranging target audience, the website needed a consistent theme that accurately portrayed SAS’ message to potential/current supporters, while remaining sensitive and respectful of the women participating in the SAS programs.
The Solution
JOI Media started this project by determining all of the desired website functionalities for both internal and external use, engineering the information structure to a 3-click system (each webpage within the website can be accessed within three clicks), and standardizing the overall navigation and menu structures. We paid particular attention to aesthetic design and theme of the website including the color template, text fonts, style template, and use of photo images. We also selected the appropriate CMS to accommodate SAS’ administrative needs.
We used a number of applications tailored to each of SAS’ functionality requests including:
- A customized event management system with member login access for administrative purposes. The SAS staff is now able to highlight and organize its upcoming events and fundraisers by creating individual event pages and uploading them into a calendar embedded within the “Events” webpage.
- A web traffic analytics solution that gives SAS rich insights into its website traffic and where typical navigation patterns by visitors to the website.
JOI Media also used its knowledge in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to aid in increasing the transparency of SAS’ website and the services it has to offer.
Results
JOI Media developed a user-friendly, cost-effective, and architecturally sound website that will support the SAS’ website needs and portray an accurate image of the organization for the foreseeable future. By using our knowledge regarding information architecture coupled with its premier website design talents, JOI Media created an aesthetically superior website that has great navigation and a specified range of functional capabilities. By developing a portion of the website with a quality CMS, the SAS staff will be able to update and monitor dynamic aspects of the website on an ongoing basis.
The website was the first project in what has become an ongoing working relationship with SAS; since finalizing the website JOI Media has worked together on a number of other SAS projects. JOI Media is now an avid supporter of the SAS.
Post-Launch Statistics
Within 30 days of launching SAS’s new website, the organization added 25 new members to its steady membership base, and experienced a dramatic improvement in terms of awareness and attendance at its events.
Over this same period the website received:
- 2,040 website visitors, an increase of +316%
- 678 returning visitors, an increase of +280%
- An average daily traffic increase of +360%
- +7,940 webpage views
- An average viewing time of 16.1 minutes, an increase of +408%
- Direct traffic accounted for +50% of visitors
- Search engine queries accounted for +22% of visitors
- Referred website accounted for +33% of visitors
Over a four month period since launching its website, requests for information on SAS membership, donations, and volunteers have grown on average by 44%.
