Goodwill of Central Iowa came to Webspec to have its website redesigned so that its mission was clear and the main focus of its online presence. Goodwill’s staff were also looking to update how they could post blogs, and they wanted to be able to use the backend of their site more efficiently when updating it down the road.
Goodwill of Central Iowa is headquartered in Johnston, IA, where it not only offers support to its iconic retail stores in the central Iowa area, but also supports local citizens with job and skill training programs, day programs, and so much more. It is mission-focused , “To Make Purposeful Employment Possible for Central Iowans,” helping central Iowa citizens receive the training, certifications, and job assistance they need to support themselves while enriching their lives along the way.
The Challenge
The website for Goodwill of Central Iowa was already pretty big, so we needed to ensure every page was accounted for and that Goodwill’s new goals for messaging across the website would be implemented seamlessly. We took a hybrid approach when it came to writing content. Both the content strategist on the Webspec side and the Goodwill of Central Iowa marketing team worked together to build out content that was not only more contextual for Goodwill’s users but more meaningful to them as well.
One of their other biggest challenges was the difficulty that the staff had with updating their last website. At Webspec, we tested our “block library process” with this client. The designer built their pages with custom blocks, designing them with the Goodwill brand guidelines. With the help of our developer they were uploaded to the backend of the website, making it accessible for Goodwill of Central Iowa to use. After training them, the Goodwill of Central Iowa marketing team found the ability to build pages on their own to be much more user-friendly.
Summary of Solutions
In collaboration with the marketing team at Goodwill of Central Iowa, we came up with the following solutions to meet their needs:
- A clear, more distinctive user flow to pages across the website.
- Unique CTAs to funnel the following personas: Shoppers & Thrifters, Donors, Mission Advocates, Prospective Employees, and Current & Potential Program Participants.
- An updated, modern design that is seamless to navigate and easily accessible.
- An easy-to-use backend for future content and website updates.
The Before & After
