From barrier to bridge: Rebuilding English Connection’s front door
Bringing new life to a community organization’s digital presence.
ENGAGEMENT AT A GLANCE
Client
English Connection
Challenge
An outdated website undersold impact and complicated operations due to unclear information architecture
Approach
A site redesign and back office operations overhaul
Key Results
A redesigned and reorganized site with clear navigation that aligns to and integrates with back office operations
INDUSTRY CONTEXT
English Connection provides free one-on-one English language tutoring in Marion, IN. They’re a small team of dedicated staff who rely on volunteers to provide services to both adults and children. The organization’s website serves as its front door to the community by publishing information about its offerings to potential students and volunteers, capturing volunteer applications, and providing links to related resources,
THE CHALLENGE
English Connection’s website had become a barrier to its mission rather than a bridge to its community. Because a member of our team had previously volunteered with the organization, we came to the work with a firsthand understanding of where the site was falling short.
Disjointed Structure: Application forms, ‘Read more’ pages, and third-party resource links all took visitors away from the website to a patchwork of external tools.
Outdated Design: Aesthetics were a barrier, and information was buried. Font and color choices were distracting, and volunteers couldn’t find simple details like where to show up on their first day.
Unsustainable Maintenance: The site sat on a dead hosting platform, with forms and relevant information having to be manually parsed and updated elsewhere.
OUR APPROACH
Align
Building on our team member’s firsthand experience and our professional expertise, Always Curious identified ways to both address immediate concerns and equip English Connection for the future.
Define
Redesign: Through collaborative working sessions, we identified each pain point and opportunity for improvement. Together, Always Curious and English Connection defined a clear vision for the site: a central hub designed around the needs of the students and volunteers who rely on it for information, applications, and resources.
Execute
Lift & Shift: The first order of business was to free the site from its dead hosting platform, so we cloned the site to a WordPress instance to provide a steady state while we planned for an overhaul.
Site Build: Once on WordPress, the site was well-oriented for implementation of the new design. Each page became a simple, welcoming landing pages with an updated aesthetic that now matched across the site.
Updated Forms: The new Gravity Forms meant potential volunteers could now apply without having to leave the site. Automated PDF generation, direct feeds to record-keeping spreadsheets, and webhook configuration not only simplified administrative processes but also laid the foundations for a future user portal.
THE OUTCOME
English Connection’s new site at ecindiana.org is clear, welcoming, and built to last. Community members know where to show up, interested volunteers can apply in a few clicks, and the site runs on a modern, supported platform that the team can update and grow with confidence.
LOOKING AHEAD
With a stable foundation in place, English Connection can turn its attention to growth: pursuing funding, recruiting new volunteers, and reaching more language students across the community. As those efforts scale, so will the need for better tools. A planned, future user portal will aim to further reduce administrative work for staff and give both volunteers and students a more direct connection to the organization.
ABOUT ALWAYS CURIOUS
Always Curious is a strategy-led team of innovators who design and build the systems and brands that set the stage for evolution and growth. We combine technical excellence with deep attention to the human workflows and business objectives that systems exist to serve.
If you’re a non-profit, community-focused organization looking for a platform and presence that matches your impact and potential, reach out to [email protected].