OCCASIONALLY, A WEBSITE REBUILD ISN’T ABOUT THE WEBSITE AT ALL.

SOMETIMES IT’S ABOUT RIGHTING A WRONG AND REBUILDING A RELATIONSHIP.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned during my 20+ years in the marketing industry is that 99% of the time, people have a story to share and simply want to be heard.

When I began my role as Manager of Marketing and Events at Fontenelle Forest, I was approached by a frustrated key stakeholder about a website project that was completed before I joined the organization. They felt the project had not achieved its intended objective and asked pointedly how I was going to fix it. [GULP] Thinking to self… don’t panic… deep breaths…

This individual was important to the organization. I wanted to get off on the right foot. I knew they weren’t really unhappy with me, rather the situation. After a moment of silence, I replied with an empathetic smile…“I’m truly sorry you experienced that. I’d like to help. Can you tell me more?”

Their guarded look of discontent melted. Those few words created a pause in the dialogue and provided an opening. It allowed us to have many genuine and meaningful conversations over the following months.

• I listened with intent. Like, really listened. I learned why this was such a passion project.

• I dissected the details, determined what was unsuccessful and why, and flipped the script, using the knowledge I gained as stepping stones for success.

• The result? I was able to rebuild a broken relationship with an important advocate of the organization, ultimately deepening their support.

• Once I understood the what and why, the path forward became clear. We needed to start from scratch and rethink, reboot and rebuild.

Phase 1: Rethink

• Form a user group of the original members of the group and key staff.

• Establish a series of meetings to determine the project scope, timeline and clarify responsibilities.

• Spend countless hours working together to identify what worked, what didn’t and why.

• Identify several tactics to elevate the vision, increasing the quality, functionality and ease of access, vastly improving the user experience.

Phase 2: Reboot

• After speaking to the original web developer, I quickly realized several key elements of how the website was intended to function had been lost in translation.

• The platform the site had been built on could not accommodate the functionality needed.

• An update was not possible, we needed to do a complete rebuild.

Phase 3: Rebuild

• We rebuilt the site from the ground up, completely reinvented the layout and established alignment with the Forest brand.

• The biggest limitation and source of frustration of the previous site was the limited search functionality. We built an extensive keyword database and implemented a robust tagging system to allow users to search for items in multiple ways (name, color, breed, season, etc.).

• We optimized the site for mobile and replaced old pixelated images with new dynamic photos.

• The ability to add sounds (think bird calls) was implemented, as well as an image rotator highlighting plants and birds to watch for seasonally.

• Focusing on improving the user experience, we provided tips on how to deepen their engagement with the Forest. We included a blog function to provide ongoing touchpoints and added links to additional identification resources (Seek by iNaturalist & Merlin Bird ID).

• In addition, a submission form with a two-fold purpose was added:

  • Allow budding naturalists to upload photos for consideration to be published on the site and encourage ongoing participation.

  • Expand the volunteer base of contributors, allowing for continued growth and improvement of the platform.

• Regular touchpoints with the core group were scheduled to provide opportunities for them to actively participate and ensure we were on track with accurate implementation of their vision.

• From beginning to end the project took about a year.

Taking the time to first establish a healthy relationship ultimately set the stage for a successful rebuild of the site and allowed a decades-long passion project to come to fruition. Together, we elevated the vision and exceeded the expectations of the original project.

Check out the Nature Search site for yourself and see how many flora and fauna you can spy on your next visit to the Forest!