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Web Site: Ethical Society of St. Louis (http://www.ethicalstl.org), a non-profit religious organization
Project's Objective: While the Ethical Society of St. Louis had established a Web presence in 1996, it was not taking full advantage of the benefits of being online. Society leaders saw two main improvements that could be made:
- Adapt the content to explain more clearly the purpose of the Ethical Society and its role in the community in order to attract potential members and create an effective public relations vehicle
- Provide up-to-date information and an online calendar in order to inform current and potential members of Society activities
Other key considerations were implementing an adaptable architecture that could accommodate growth and putting in place infrastructural and technological tools to help Society staff manage information requests and track Web site traffic.
Principia's Role: Deborah Ausman chaired a committee of ten volunteers in the nine-month project to redesign the Web site. As project manager, Deborah was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the project, setting project schedules and deliverables, running meetings, and delegating duties. In particular, she encouraged the committee to focus early on site objectives and goals; this planning resulted in a flat architectural scheme that is easy to navigate, but that nevertheless projects the diversity of activities at the Ethical Society.
Since its launch in June 2000, the new Web site has seen an average of 400 visitors a day. Society staff has noted such an increase in inquiries about weddings (a revenue-generating activity for the Society) that one staff member mentioned a problem in finding enough officiants to perform ceremonies! Most importantly, the original committee continues to meet to add content to and evaluate the ongoing performance of the site. The site is no longer static, but is growing and changing with the organization.
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