Marilyn and Wayne Gray have a passion to see people set free from hurts – addictions, marital strife, and depression resulting from past abuse or neglect.
Although their non-profit ministry, Freedomtrain Ministries, is thriving, they wanted to take it to the next level. Marilyn says:
“We wanted to update our Web site, add more multi-media resources, and present ourselves publicly in a more personal manner.”
When we began working with Marilyn and Wayne, we reviewed their Web site and immediately pinpointed several areas that needed improvement:
- Their copy was impersonal and did not clearly explain the services they provide, the purpose of their ministry, or the reason why they were leading this ministry.
- Their blog was located on a different site and had a completely different design than their Web site.
- The width of their site’s banner (header) was narrower than the other elements on the site, giving the entire site a disjoined feel.
- The white (and yellow, and lilac, and green, and blue!) type on a purple background was jarring to the eyes.
- The myriad of type fonts, sizes, and styles, combined with long blocks of text, made the site uninviting difficult to read.
- The site had not been optimized for different browsers, and the navigation buttons displayed off-kilter on some browsers.
Here’s a BEFORE screenshot of their original Web site:
Marilyn and I collaborated closely on every step of this project. We fine-tuned their ministry’s brand message, re-wrote all the copy on their site, selected a contemporary color scheme, and customized a WordPress theme to create a clean, simple design. I love the way their copy now reflects the deepest parts of who they are. Read Marilyn’s testimony and you’ll see what I mean.
- We axed their former domain name (dot INFO) and replaced it with an easier-to-find dot COM (www.freedomtrainministries.com).
- One of our graphic artists freshened up their logo and designed two banners that fade in and out, creating a flash-style effect. Because Freedomtrain Ministries draws from a wide age-range of clients (early 20s to seniors), our artist faced the challenge of creating something that was cool enough to attract Gen Yers, yet conservative enough to appeal to seniors. Here’s one of the new headers:
- We carefully selected and placed simple, vibrant images that showcase Marilyn and Wayne’s life journey and subtly promote the “freedom train” brand.
- Marilyn and Wayne diligently collected endorsements and testimonials from people who have attended their training and ministry sessions, and we interspersed those throughout the site, sometimes as pull quotes and sometimes as graphic elements.
- We migrated their blog content from their former host into their new WordPress site, and I gave Marilyn some tips about how to format blog posts and how to optimize them for search engines.
- Marilyn and Wayne signed up for an account with an e-newsletter service, and we popped a subscription form into their site’s sidebar. We also added RSS features so people can subscribe to their blog posts via a feed reader or e-mail.
Many small non-profits hesitate to build or revamp their Web site, assuming that such a venture must be extremely expensive. It’s not. FreedomtrainMinistries.com is an example how you can freshen up a site on a limited budget – and breathe new life into your business at the same time.
Stop by their new site for a looksee!
