Project Profile: Rachel Coalition

How a Service Dedicated to Victims of Domestic Violence Improved Its Reach

Quick Read

The Rachel Coalition (http://rachelcoalition.org) has provided invaluable services for victims of domestic violence through a 24-hour crisis response line, Emergency Safe House and counseling since 1997. But its website was limited to a few informational pages and uninspiring design. They also wanted to make their services known to victims in need and also provide information to the community.

By teaming with Talance, Inc. (http://talance.com), a Boston-area Web development and design firm that specializes in user-friendly websites for non-profits, Rachel Coalition now has a design that reflects its somber but hopeful mission, has high visibility and the ability to accept online payments.

The website—which includes optimized search engine capabilities, an online shopping cart for accepting donations and selling tribute cards and more– is now manageable by a staff without any in-depth technical expertise. The site also effectively informs its constituency about events and resources through an announcements section.

The Challenge

Rachel Coalition knew its site needed an upgrade. It needed to be easier for administers to maintain. It needed to inform its constituency about invaluable services. It needed to have the capability of accepting online payment for donations and product sales. And to bring it all together, it needed a design that balanced the delicate line between gravity and hope.

The Project

After reviewing the existing website structure for usability and interviewing key members of the Rachel Coalition office, Talance determined a new structure and design that would appear on search engines and be more attractive to donors and clients. They developed a website plan that included:

• Better design: the old black and white design was replaced by a site in subdued blues and purples, yet one that still conveyed a message of comfort and hope.
• Better management and control over the site content: Thanks to a Drupal CMS, it’s easy for administrators to make changes to pages.
• Shopping cart: The new shopping cart allows donors to purchase tribute cards, make donations and buy tickets for events.
• What’s New: A list on the homepage allows the agency to highlight significant events.
• Better navigation: Create consistent menus on every page that provide for a better user experience.
• Friendly URLs: As part of an overall search engine optimization (SEO) campaign, each page has a unique address that’s easy for visitors to read and that is easily catalogued in search engines.

From the Client

"The support from Talance has been incredible," says Reuben Rotman, executive director of Rachel Coalition. "Our non-profit went from having an old, very limited website to three different robust websites. Each step of the way, the staff at Talance held our hand, offered concrete suggestions and suggested innovations we never would have thought of on our own."