New logo: improved readability, updated but still classic look, and a more accurate reflection (deciduous trees, stone walls as opposed to firs and mountains in the previous logo) of Essex County's open spaces.
Web Site design and development: custom Wordpress CMS theme presents trails info in a user-friendly way using tags and categories; trails can be found via a map, listed by town and also by activity (they automatically display under the correct town/activity according to tags assigned by the writer); latest news and an events list are automatically displayed on the home page; the site can be maintained by staff with no coding experience; secure joining, renewing and donating is enabled through PayPal integration.
NEW: Facebook integration has been added. News and events published on the web site can be sent to the new ECTA Facebook application with just one click when the post is written by the site editor. Fans will then see news, events and trail alerts in their Facebook news feeds. Designed to build community, drive traffic to the web site, and as a convenience for users.
Iron Crow Yoga needed a clean and apt look that would communicate the brand to new and existing clients in a compelling way. Collaborating with Communications Ink we identified the three core offerings: classes, a dvd and retreats which are highlighted on the home page as a user-friendly starting point from which a visitor can find out more. Communications Ink provided the copy and manages marketing strategy for their client.
We developed a custom CMS theme running on the Wordpress framework and utilizing an embedded Google Calendar so that the client could update site copy and class times easily without needing to hire a developer. Iron Crow's clients can also subscribe to the calendar via any ics-compatible calendar application (such as ical, outlook etc.) so they don't have to visit the web site to get the updated schedule. This also extends the reach of the site as a marketing tool, reminding clients to remember to take a regular class.
The town of Ipswich, MA is celebrating its 375th anniversary in 2009. The event committee needed a web site that could provide information about the town, its history and 375th events, also a way to donate to the event fund, drive traffic to local businesses and get in touch. It also needed to be able to expand in size without becoming overly-complex to navigate. Finally, it would need to be updated regularly.
Using Wordpress as a framework a custom CMS (content management system) was developed that would meet all these goals, and that could be updated by volunteers with no knowledge of html thus reducing the cost of upkeep dramatically.
Result: to date the web site has had nearly 11,000 visits and 39,000 page views. A team of five volunteers run the web site, two of whom are local high schoolers.
