Land trust experience case study

Summary

Watch a land trust’s online presence bloom, expanding its reach by 130x and donations by 25%. Chippewa County Land Conservancy (CCLC) is a non-profit land trust preserving over 1,300 acres of land in Northern Wisconsin.

Role: Content and Product Designer
Timeline: 2 months
Tools: Google Suite, Squarespace, Canva
Team:
Alison Sazama - Co-Founder of CCLC
Richard Smith - President of CCLC

Problem

CCLC needed an online presence that better served its community. Their previous website wasn’t responsive or accessible and didn’t include ways to donate online or learn about preserves in the land trust.

The land trust is volunteer-run. They needed a streamlined online experience that attracted donors and volunteers and required minimal upkeep.

CCLC’s former website homepage on desktop

Research

CCLC and I discussed their goals, and I recommended using a drag-and-drop website builder for easy maintenance and responsive design. CCLC decided to have me develop iterations of their existing logo to use on the website and social media, rather than develop a new logo, since it’s on signs at their land preserves.

I researched CCLC’s users, their pain points and challenges, competitive research, and existing patterns. I learned the following:

Users included potential land donors and volunteers, plus community members who wanted to find the preserves (they weren’t online yet).
Many potential donors, volunteers, and preserve visitors don’t understand what land trusts are and do.
Other land trusts included similar information on their websites and some arranged it effectively, making it easy for users to achieve their goals.

I shared this information with CCLC’s board members along with other artifacts I created, including a sitemap (information architecture), brand and editorial style guides, and a project timeline. Here are some of the artifacts:

User analyses involved creating personas. These included an outdoor enthusiast (above), a landowner, a volunteer, and a donor/member.

CCLC’s editorial style guide helps keep all content on-brand.

CCLC’s mood board, part of the brand guide, reflects their values.

CCLC’s brand guide includes their original logo and two derivative logo marks I made.

Design and iteration

After CCLC approved the plan, I completed SEO keyword research and mocked up the website. I did all of the UX design and writing, including creating custom forms and the ability to accept donations. I recycled CCLC’s newsletter into blog posts, added photos I took of their preserves, and embedded a custom, interactive Google map to help people find the preserves. Then I tested all functionality across device types and operating systems.

Home page on desktop and a page with a map of the preserves on mobile.

Blog on mobile devices. Blog posts are written in AP style and keyword-optimized to boost SEO. The Microsoft Style Guide provided inclusive language guidance.

The Join Us page on mobile links to forms such as the Volunteer Form.

I identified opportunities for improvement using accessibility and SEO audits. User testing provided thoughtful insights that I incorporated into the design. Changes included adding an in-depth description of what land trusts do and more detailed information about each preserve. Every page also includes a newsletter signup in the footer.

Further down on the page with map of the preserves, as seen on a tablet.

I presented a virtual website walk-through to CCLC’s board, gathered additional feedback, made minor revisions, and trained board members on how to maintain the website. It is easier to use than they expected!

Results

The website received positive feedback and donations shortly after launch! For the first time, the website includes functionality to become a member, apply as a volunteer, donate land, and sign up for Amazon Smile. These new features significantly increase efficiency and remove barriers to getting involved with the land trust.

Before working together, the organization reached ~100 people per month. With their new responsive website and multi-channel approach including their social media accounts I set up and linked to their website, they now reach over 13,000 people per month—a 130x increase! Their new online presence also increased donations and greatly improved accessibility, usability, and SEO.

Based on user feedback, future plans include adding individual pages for each preserve to help people plan their visits. This includes detailed descriptions, trail maps, histories, and ecological information about each property. Here’s a prototype of that experience for one of the preserves:

Rave review

“Recently Dez worked with members of the Chippewa County Land Conservancy to upgrade the non-profit’s website. Dez set forth a clear and decisive plan for making the technical changes necessary while using her creative skills to enhance the project.

During the process, Dez’s professionalism, attention to detail, and creative talent were clearly evident. She researched the organization’s mission, thoughtfully listened to the requests of the group, and pulled it all together in an organized and timely fashion. Dez's presentation of the new website to the Conservancy board was met with rave reviews. We are so pleased with our new site and would highly recommend her work to anyone.”

— Alison Sazama, Founder of Chippewa County Land Conservancy

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