online data management

Cushy CMS to WordPress CMS Conversion

Dumas Bay retreat center screenshot

Client: Dumas Bay Centre

Scope of Work
Accessibility Improvements
Copyediting and content migration
Front-End web development
Performance optimization
Security hardening
Search engine optimization
Visual redesign

Team: Cipalla Communications, Scott Marlow, Joan van den Berg

Dumas Bay Centre is a unique event & retreat venue owned by the City of Federal Way.

Before the website redesign, center staff were limited to editing existing website content using Cushy CMS, a WYSIWYG HTML editing tool. To add new content, city IT staff needed to upload files to the web host.

The website was migrated to a new host and WordPress was configured to allow full rich-content editing. The new mobile-friendly site features a more modern look, with image galleries, oEmbed video support, site search, SSL protection, and feedback and rental inquiry forms. All implemented with accessibility in mind.

Performance Metrics

Performance WordPress Site Benchmark
Google Mobile Speed: 68
Google Desktop Speed 81
Pingdom 87 faster than 87% of tested sites
WebPageTest Speed Index 1,017 median = ~4,493
top 10% = <1,388
YSlow 81 average score = 70
Web Page Size 526 Kb In 2017, average page size = ~2.4 Mb
median page size = ~1.9 Mb
Web Server Requests 27 < 40 – 60 recommended

 

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Affiliate WordPress Website

Seattle CARES Mentoring website screenshot

Client: Seattle CARES Mentoring Movement

Scope of Work
Copyediting
Custom Photography
Front-End web development
Performance optimization
Security hardening
Search engine optimization
Visual design

Team: Cipalla Communications, van den Berg Design, Rebecca Sullivan Photography, Scott Marlow

Seattle CARES Mentoring Movement, one of 58 city affiliates, provides school-based mentoring programs for black youth, under a King County Best Starts for Kids grant. The organization needed to quickly re-launch a mobile-friendly website in preparation for a January gala, attended by Major Jenny Durkan and other city of Seattle stakeholders. The new site also had to coordinate with National CARES existing brand identity.

The new nonprofit website, powered by WordPress, was refined over several months. Features include: an event calendar, online mentor forms, rich custom photography & videography, social media & sharing integration, and SSL protection.

Performance Metrics

Performance WordPress Site Benchmark
Google Mobile Speed: 78
Google Desktop Speed 88
Pingdom 77 faster than 64% of tested sites
WebPageTest Speed Index 1,147 median = ~4,493
top 10% = <1,388
YSlow 76 average score = 70
Web Page Size 884 Kb In 2017, average page size = ~2.4 Mb
median page size = ~1.9 Mb
Web Server Requests 58 < 40 – 60 recommended
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WordPress to the Rescue

K9 Search and Rescue Team website
Graphic Design by David Owen Hastings
WordPress Site Development by Scott Marlow

A mobile responsive site redesign for Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue K9 Team.

This volunteer-led nonprofit previously relied on an outdated version of a DotNetNuke CMS with a non-mobile friendly layout.

Our new WordPress site is not only mobile friendly, but includes a dynamic news section for updates and alerts, as well as new members only content that volunteers can manage and maintain themselves.

Performance has been improved by reducing page size 92%, from 4.7 Mb to a respectable 371 Kb – resulting in a page load speed under 3 seconds.

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Bicycle Association Selects WordPress to Manage Content

bicycle association website

Visual Design by: Gravity Communications
E-Commerce and Members-Only Features by: IvyCat
Mobile Responsive WordPress Development by: Scott Marlow

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, BPSA – the U.S. bicycle industry trade association – launched a new mobile responsive website.

Bicycle industry manufacturers can now join the association and order products online. An RSS feed allows members to stay updated on the latest industry news. Exclusive members-only features will be rolled out over time.

And, of course, the Content Management System is WordPress – an appropriate open source CMS solution for any nonprofit organization.

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