Charity Website Design: The Open Spaces Society
Client: The Open Spaces Society
Web Design & CRO | Client since 2008
The charity needed to revamp their outdated website to become a central hub for vital information and to facilitate donations.
114%
Membership Signup INcrease
100s
Of legal information pages, self-serve
2008
Client since
Situation
The Open Spaces Society, as the oldest national conservation body in the UK, has been dedicated to protecting public spaces and pathways. Recognizing the need to modernize their digital presence to increase donations and member engagement, they embarked on a significant web development project. The primary goal was to revamp the outdated website to become a central hub for vital information and to facilitate donations.
Challenge
The charity faced several issues with their old website, which was built on an outdated PHP-based CMS. It lacked the functionality needed to engage visitors effectively and manage content efficiently. The site’s design was not optimized for conversions, featuring merely basic text and bullet points.
The Society also held a huge amount of valuable information about access rights and the law around paths and open spaces. It wasn’t easy to find, so people phoned the office instead.
Solution
Rather than jumping into a full rebuild, I redesigned the two pages that matter most to a charity first. Once the results came in, we rebuilt the whole site in WordPress and added the tools the team needed behind it.
WordPressGoogle DriveInteractive MapsKinstaGDPR
Three steps, each earning the next
1
Phase one
Fix the pages that bring in money
WordfenceSuccuriKinstaCDN
Clear calls to action
Joining and donating. Each got a strong hero image, clear and persuasive wording, and an obvious button telling visitors exactly what to do next..
An immediate response
The improvement showed up almost immediately – 114% in the first month, which gave the Society the confidence to go further.
2
Phase two
Rebuild the website in WordPress
With that success behind us, I rebuilt the whole site so staff could manage it themselves.
A membership system
Joining is simpler for new members, and staff can manage members more easily.
An information hub
Hundreds of pages explaining the law around paths, commons and open spaces across the UK, organised so people can find answers themselves.
Interactive maps
Showing local correspondence and legal advice on open spaces across the UK
Volunteer profiles
Each volunteer’s details are kept in one place and shown consistently across the site.
3
Phase three
Tools for the team
Two pieces of work that sit beside the public site and make the organisation run better.
A staff intranet
Connected to Google Drive, so staff and volunteers can share documents securely and keep internal news in one place.
A historical photograph archive
A separate site showcasing the Society’s collection of historical photographs.
Search visibility
- Worked alongside the charities newly SEO team on the technical side of their strategy.
Smashing the previous year's records
- Membership Growth: Achieved a 114% increase in memberships post-implementation.
- Reduced Operational Queries: Decrease in routine phone calls due to improved availability of information online.
- Increased Donations: Notable rise in legacy donations following the website enhancements.
- National Recognition: Strengthened the charity’s reputation as a leading advocate for public land rights.
- Operational Efficiency: Enhanced internal communication among staff and volunteers through the new intranet system.
I worked closely with Dan on the redevelopment of a large charity website.
A great web developer who understood the importance of the technical SEO factors that help a website perform well across search.
The new site is now smashing previous year records by +114%
L
Laura Brookes
Marketing Director
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