Quebec Writers' Federation – Endoh Collaborative

Goals

After growing organically for 13 years, the QWF's website was in need of content organization overhaul and workflows optimization along with a visual overhaul.

simplifying interactions for all site visitors by improving content organization
streamlining the process of membership sign-up and renewal including payment as well as workshop and event sign-ups/payment
minimizing the amount of time internal staff has to spend on supporting the above actions

What we did

Information architecture & UX
Web design
Usability testing
WordPress & front-end web development
Accessibility compliance & consulting

Project team

Sasha Endoh,
Melissa Jean Clark

Results

complete automation of member sign-up and renewal processes
autonomous event and workshop sign-up process
automated data sharing with SalesForce
19.30% increase in page views per session
16.32% increase in average session duration
91% increase in organic reach

Information architecture

Organizing and labeling content to better serve the community

One of the main concerns the QWF had when they came to us was that their website felt overwhelming, with content being added willy-nilly rather than with a system or strategy in mind. We first identified the most valuable sections of their site, then worked with their team to make initial content organization improvement. Finally, we tested the system with real users to optimize both content organization and labelling to better serve their needs.

Archiving in style

Intuitive and robust filtering for 30+ years of data

Along with general information architecture work, we also implemented robust filtering of data that the organization has been collecting over the past decades. We created a detailed and powerful Awards section to present not only the winners of literary and community awards but also shortlisted entries, awards gala highlights, and listing of all submissions. In the admin area, this section is optimized to allow QWF staff to easily change statuses for all awards throughout the year while offering flexibility for inevitable outliers.

Filtering is employed throughout the site’s archival content for ease of navigation and discovery.

Robust eCommerce

Encouraging self-sufficiency in members and event participants

Prior to our work with the QWF, a lot of their internal team’s time was spent on payment processing for workshops and events registration as well as member renewals. We took advantage of both out-of-the-box and extended features of WooCommerce to allow QWF’s team to spend more time running and developing projects rather than supporting easily automated tasks. Now visitors can register for workshops and events directly from QWF’s website. Members get their discounts automatically and can join or renew their membership easily. The system has a robust set of rules for dealing with waitlists, application processes, payment policies, as well as refunds and cancellations.

CRM/AMS integration

Automated data collection for administrative tasks

To further streamline membership renewal and centralize important data, we brought in our trusted SalesForce partner, una buro. The QWF already had a SalesForce account but it wasn’t being used. Una buro migrated QWF’s database of members, donors, and other various constituents from Access into SalesForce and automated membership renewal notifications. The QWF’s new website sends all sales information to their SalesForce account tracking information about workshops, events, and member activities allowing for a deeper understanding of constituent interactions as well as more robust data reporting.

Of course, we also migrated the records of 700+ active QWF members into the new WordPress website so they could immediately take advantage of member discounts and take ownership of the new membership renewal process.

Community calendar

Connecting and fostering the community

While the QWF offers a number of events, workshops, and programs their website is there to serve the English-language writing community of Quebec as a whole. When creating a calendar feature for the QWF we also built-in community submissions to allow for continuous opportunities for connections, mentorship, stewardship, and fun without much more than moderation from QWF’s internal team.

Modern web design & development

Optimized for users of all abilities on a variety of devices

We conducted user testing throughout the project to validate design solutions and identify paint-points for improvement. We also prioritized accessibility and responsiveness best practices while designing and developing the new QWF website. While building out both the front-end and the content management experience, we made sure to create just enough options and features to allow the website to be flexible while serving specific internal processes of QWF’s programs.

CMS training

Complete website ownership and ease of maintenance

We conducted multiple training sessions and created video documentation to ensure that QWF’s team can take complete ownership of the website we built for them while running content updates, regular maintenance, and through inevitable staff turnover.

I’m so in love with the site, Sasha! It does everything we wanted it to do and it does it beautifully, seamlessly, and with panache! You’ve listened to everything we said during this process and really built the Quebec Writers’ Federation a site that reflects our values, our style, and our community. Thank you so much!

Lori Schubert
Quebec Writers' Federation