Background
When a company is around for nearly a century, its history is often paired with experience and influence. Chicago-based non-profit for animal welfare, NAVS (National Anti-Vivisection Society) was founded 90 years ago, and was looking for a way to better anchor their brand. And in order to attract a wider audience of animal welfare advocates and stand out in the digital landscape, they needed a new website.
On a mission to advance science without harming animals, NAVS promotes greater compassion for animals through educational and advocacy programs. In order to continue this commitment, their website needed to function more effectively to raise awareness and inspire giving from the next generation of animal advocates.
After working with Solid Digital on the successful website redesign of BioLEAP (an educational initiative within their organization) the NAVS team started the process with Solid Digital only a few weeks after their BioLEAP project launched.
Strategy/Approach
With a shift to reaching a wider audience, came a shift in approach. NAVS approached Solid Digital with these objectives for their updated website:
- Develop an engaging website that aligns with and anchors NAVS’s brand and other initiatives, helping to attract and retain supporters.
- Improve the website’s content and structure to better communicate NAVS’s mission, vision, and programmatic work in a clear and compelling way that resonates with both existing and new audiences.
- Leverage the website as a central hub to drive more digital engagement, email signups, and donations, moving away from a heavy reliance on direct mail.
Additionally, an updated website would help increase their page load speed, improve their SEO, and allow them to better track their traffic.
During the learning and discovery phase, Solid Digital noted a handful of specific areas that would help NAVS achieve their growth goals: effective, rich content; clearer conversion paths and calls-to-action; consistent imagery quality, and an updated CMS system.
Overall, Solid Digital outlined the following tasks to help NAVS achieve their objectives:
- Create intuitive user journeys (UX) guiding visitors from awareness to action
- Use a flexible content management system (WordPress + Elementor) that empowers staff to update and maintain the site
- Integrate analytics across multiple platforms for data-driven decision-making and campaign optimization
- Craft a mobile-responsive web design to cater to a younger audience
Process
The project kicked off quickly, with plenty of collaboration along the way. With some overlap in the team from the BioLEAP website redesign, Solid Digital dove in, with momentum based on trust established in the previous project. With Andre at NAVS functioning as point person, the teams were kept in communication and on schedule. In contrast to the BioLEAP project, NAVS’ new executive director joined in to contribute fresh ideas and additional direction.
Running in the Background
The restrictive Blackbaud platform had NAVS struggling with outdated technology stacks, unable to easily shift their content to reach a younger audience. Having seen what a new CMS was able to do with the BioLEAP site, NAVS knew WordPress could be the back-end user-friendly CMS they needed—with better page speed, and website content control as well.
A Way, with Words
The previous NAVS website had thin, unconvincing content that didn’t effectively explain NAVS’ purpose and vision. Pages lacked the calls-to-action needed for email signups, donations, and general advocacy, and website visitors frequently left the site without any kind of tracking or movement.
Solid Digital worked with NAVS to carve out better, clearer user journeys. With a strategy to focus on supporters and activists, the content and the delivery had to shift. Focus was on a clearer hierarchy with information, a top nav with opportunities to donate or take action, and an insights hub, they were able to capture leads, help them take action, and show progress and thought leadership in their initiatives. Instead of having “Key Issues” and “Work” competing in the top menu, “Our Work” and “Our Impact” were chosen instead. Additionally, the “Latest” tab helped centralize ideas and show their up-to-date advocacy and momentum from donations. This insights hub will also help NAVS expand their base of donors and advocates through regular news and publications, while retaining the support of existing donors.
By reorganizing the site layout, Solid Digital helped show the progress being made with “Our Impact”, demonstrated NAVS’ leadership in the industry with “Our Work” and ensured that every user has the opportunity to take action through a variety of CTAs on every page, including in the top nav.
Picture It
With the old site, image quality and photography style were inconsistent. To set themselves apart and keep with their brand’s positive outlook, NAVS needed to use uplifting and aspirational images and photography—showing what animals would or could be doing in an ideal world (without dissection or animal research). To that end, an updated hero image shows a beagle playing, and there are fewer photos of animals in lab settings. The two teams carefully chose photos that balanced credibility and emotion.
Historic But Relevant
This balance also applied to the website’s copywriting and overall look and feel. In order to appeal to a younger demographic, it was vital to make the long-time organization’s site more modern. The previous website needed a color update and a shift toward the positive.
When Solid Digital previewed the visual design direction for NAVS in the strategy phase, it immediately resonated. With a balance between science and education, the nonprofit had virtually no edits to the design board or style direction, called “Aspirational Advocates.”
The design direction was clean, light, approachable, and gave the historic organization’s site the contemporary feel needed to appeal to a younger audience. Finally, the website design was ready to be paired with masterful storytelling.
Challenges
Pairing the design with copywriting was one of the larger challenges of the project. On a mission to create positivity around animal advocacy (rather than shame and guilt) it was vital to craft the messaging carefully. In order to engage, educate, and show progress, the content pillars were: the work and the impact of NAVS, how readers can take action, and general facts and research to help website users learn about animals in science. With both teams on board to create copy, the process required clarity and plenty of collaboration to keep it on time and on track.
An additional challenge was ensuring every voice was heard. With ideas coming from both long-time NAVS team members as well as new leadership, it was up to Solid Digital to keep the project moving according to the timeline while executing a site that integrated the best ideas from everyone.
Results
Several of the fresh ideas being brought to the table were encouraged for later phases of the website—during our ongoing partnership.
Now NAVS has the start of something beautiful: a website with seamless user journeys, a modernized design and carefully crafted messaging to reach a younger audience, and easy updates with a new CMS. It was our pleasure to help NAVS find a solution, so they can continue their mission of transforming the scientific landscape.
As it happens, working together—the collective approach—works well for both animal advocacy and website design.
