Area
Web Design
Team
2 designers
Duration
4 months
Tools
Figma, Framer
TL;DR
Herralink, a senior living nonprofit, faced declining volunteer signups. I redesigned their website in Framer, improving structure, consistency, and visual identity to make signing up easier and more engaging, helping the platform grow from 700 to 900 members in just three months and positioning it for acquisition under Goodwin Living.
Context
Herralink’s Mission to Build Community
Herralink is a senior living organization that helps the elderly connect with youth and build community. When Goodwin Living, a fellow nonprofit, approached to acquire Herralink to expand volunteer engagement, it created an opportunity for the organization to re-evaluate and improve its website experience in order to better recruit volunteers, manage events, and amplify its impact.
The Challenge
Addressing Decline in Volunteer Participation
Before talks about this potential acquisition began, Herralink was experiencing a stagnation in its volunteer participation, leading to fewer visits for seniors and low attendance at weekly events. The challenge was to reverse this trend by streamlining the registration process and finding more effective ways to encourage volunteer participation
Research
Aligning User Needs With Business Goals
I joined midway as the second designer to rebuild Herralink’s site in Framer. With an acquisition approaching, the founder wanted quick results, but the proposed updates felt inconsistent, cleaner visuals without better usability. I took a step back to realign the design with organizational goals and volunteer needs, using insights from the founder and team to guide a more informed approach.
Sitemap
Identifying Structural Gaps
The main issue I noticed was that pages were designed in isolation, limiting support for volunteer recruitment. I worked with another designer and the team to brainstorm and map out two potential site structures.
Option 1
Option 2
We decided that the second option would be quicker to implement and prioritized volunteer registration. With the acquisition approaching, reliance on donations was less urgent. While this structure highlighted Herralink’s background less, it offered the best chance to attract volunteers and position the organization as a strong acquisition partner.
redesign
Improvement #1
Simple & informative
The most noticeable and immediate improvement is the site’s updated visual design and layout; it’s cleaner, easier to navigate, and brings a modern, welcoming look intended to keep users engaged and learn a little bit more about the organization.
Improvement #2
Registration Page
Because the actual sign-up process took place primarily outside the website, we redesigned the registration page to guide volunteers more clearly. By adding simple, step-by-step instructions, volunteers felt more confident navigating to a new tab and completing their registration without confusion.
Improvement #3
FAQ section
The last thing a volunteer should face when generously offering their time is the frustration of not finding the information they need. This lack of clarity initially contributed to low participation, so we added an FAQ section to address common questions and remove barriers to getting involved.
Improvement #4
Activities & Events
Because weekly activities are the primary way volunteers connect with seniors, we designed a new Activities page where all events are regularly updated. From there, users can sign up through the volunteer portal to receive consistent updates on upcoming events and opportunities.
Additional Improvements
Social Media Outreach
Boosting Herralink’s growth went beyond redesigning the website. It included a complete visual refresh and a broader outreach strategy. By pairing the new site with a targeted social media campaign, we were also able to funnel more mobile users into volunteering.
Measuring Success
For the three months that followed, the combination of implementing design changes, launching the redesigned website, and running a focused social media outreach campaign came together to create measurable impact: