THE RIPE STUFF

18 Nov ‘24

Key Elements of a Successful Website Redesign – A Case Study

18 Nov ‘24

In: Case Study, Marketing, Redesign, Web Design & Development, / By: Heather Richman

RIPE recently redesigned a website for a high-profile Los Angeles County department and all parties involved declared it a shining success. As the Creative Director at RIPE (a Los Angeles-based Marketing Agency), I decided to take stock and share what “success” really looks like from a client expectations, project workflow, and measurable outcomes perspective.

Steps to a Successful Website Redesign

First and foremost is actually winning the bid via LA County’s RFP process. As with almost any government project, the process and requirements are rigorous. It really helps to have been through it several times and to go with the flow in regards to changes and pieces that are particular to the specific project. But once we decide that a project is a great fit and we want to go for it, we move forward as if this is the initiation of a new client engagement. In order to produce a winning proposal, you have to comprehensively understand the requirements and go deeper to understand broader needs so that what you propose stands out to prospects. I see this approach as pulling up our sleeves to get the project while also laying the groundwork for rewarding outcomes.

Once the project begins that engagement evolves into the Discovery Phase to gather more critical information. A lot of times you are not in direct contact with decision makers until this phase, so this is a critical point to develop a collegial and productive effort. Our client, for this case study, is the Justice, Care and Opportunities Department of LA County. They are a relatively new organization launched by The LA County Board of Supervisors through a Board Motion in 2022 titled, Care First, Jails Last: Establishing a Justice, Care, and Opportunities Department to Promote Collaboration and Transparency in a Person-Centered Justice System. The Department quickly put together the website below, but after 2 years it was time for a serious overhaul.

The Department specified these requirements in their RFP:

Enhance overall website user experience
Implement a modern and responsive website design
Improve website performance and loading times
Integrate new website features

During Discovery, we dug deeper on requirements and ran interactive branding exercises to better understand their needs. Our deliberate methodologies made two things clear. The UX and Content Organization were arguably the most important elements to address. It was truly difficult to not only find information, but the lack of hierarchies made the site confusing to digest. Frustrating to navigate. The second big item was the look ‘n feel or the expression of the brand identity. The page templates lacked finessed design execution and the content was missing relevant storytelling components. Their site did not properly reflect the organization, which is why they were so eager for this relaunch. It was paramount that the redesigned site uniquely reflect this exciting new Department and that it resonate with the people they serve.

For organizations who serve our community, a redesigned site is not just about fonts, colors, taglines, and photography — it can be the difference between whether people receive services or not. Government entities and their communications should connect people to care. Our client’s mission is to cultivate a person-centered, coordinated continuum of care for vulnerable justice-impacted individuals and their communities. By leading collaborative system improvement efforts, we focus on prevention, diversion, and reentry to achieve community safety, wellbeing, and equitable justice. So we take on this mission with our clients and believe fundamentally that this is how successful marketing campaigns and communication pieces come to life.

Once we’re all in alignment, the pieces seamlessly fall into place. Our teams moved forward in a co-creative manner to produce a successfully redesigned site for LA County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department.

“RIPE brought our vision to life. They take our ideas and vision and deliver them exactly how we want them or better. Their responsiveness and professionalism are also excellent.”

– Brenda Duran, Director of External Affairs, LA County JCOD –

At the end of the day, it takes the right mix of people to pull off a successfully redesigned site and I can say my team is the best in the business. I’m really proud of our work and the collaboration was so enjoyable that RIPE continues to provide ongoing marketing support. Win-win for all!

Redesign site // https://jcod.lacounty.gov
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Cheers,

Heather