Introducing a new look for our website at www.benedictinewomen.org
“I found the site easy to navigate and the content easy to read. The large layout with great pictures and focused text was inviting. I particularly liked the active pictures, showing sisters and others from the extended communities praying, working in the garden, working in the prairie, gathered around the dinner table, etc. These kinds of photos communicate the richness of the interaction between all the members of the monastic community and the community of communities. The calendar with all the events of Holy Wisdom Monastery coordinated in one place is great, too.”
On Wednesday, September 2, 2015 our website consultant, Nick Wilkes, launched a new website for Holy Wisdom Monastery. After nearly a year of planning, designing, consulting, writing, creating and testing, and with the help of many people, we now have a mobile-friendly responsive website. A responsive site isn’t a separate site for mobile devices, but a site that displays equally well on a small screen or a huge screen and any screen size in between. Users should be able to view and use our site on any device.Websites often provide the first impression of an organization. Our new website is designed to communicate the richness and vitality of Holy Wisdom Monastery through engaging photos, informative text and pleasing layouts. Our goal is to educate users about our mission, values and ministries, and about the wide variety of communities and offerings at Holy Wisdom.
Many women exploring community life find out about us and the Benedictine Sojourner program through our website, so we wanted to show these seekers what Holy Wisdom is all about. We hope all first time website visitors get a visual sense of what it is like here before they visit. Since Holy Wisdom Monastery is made up of several communities, we wanted to make it easy to learn about the various communities, join a specific community and attend activities held here.
New technology
New technology, since our last website redesign, helps users browse the website in a multitude of ways:
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the traditional navigation bar at the top (three bar logo, top right on mobile devices)
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a site search using the magnifying glass at the top right (at the bottom of mobile menu)
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bands of quick information on the homepage such as the various event calendars
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a tabbed menu system and quick links to more information
Hopefully we’ve made it easier to find the calendar and register for a program, contact us, donate, sign up for our newsletter or blog posts and get directions.
Navigation pointers
The navigation is broken into five main areas:
- About: explains the mission, values and work
- Join: talks about the various communities
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Visit: highlights activities guests can do at monastery
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Support: gives information on volunteering, donating, planned giving and fundraising events
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News: features our monthly newsletter, blog posts, upcoming activities, articles written about Holy Wisdom by the media and a link to our Facebook page
We hope you will visit our website at benedictinewomen.org and explore our new site. Check us out on your smart phone or tablet. And please share our site with your friends and family.
Feedback welcomed
We would love your feedback! Please contact me at cmcginley@benedictinewomen.org or 608-836-1631, x119 and tell me what you think of the redesign or if something isn’t working for you.