Launching WWF: A Site to Help Save Wildlife
Kevin Powers, Former Senior Digital Strategist
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When you start a project with a trip to the zoo (or a Lemur center, even), the likelihood the work ahead of you is going to be exciting, fulfilling and memorable is pretty high. That's exactly the experience Viget had working with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to redesign their U.S. site. After weeks of staring at awesome animals and wrapping too many development tickets to count, the new WorldWildlife.org is an inspiring, motivating experience that will help extend the organization's reach and strengthen their aim of building a future in which people live in harmony with nature.
WWF operates in more than 100 countries; has a suppport base of nearly 5 million people; and at any given time, operates nearly 1,300 conservation projects. As an organization, WWF is one of the world's leading and most recognized non-profits. And today, WorldWildlife.org is a site equally unique in its field for a few key reasons. (More details on the topics below can be found on our case study for the project.)
Responsive
Smart and efficient accessibility of WWF's content was paramount to the project. The organization no longer has to publish in multiple places or worry about particular user devices. And given the continued increase in mobile usage, it's assured that WWF's message will now reach more people.
Personalized
Through some intricate development, the new site attempts to provide more relevant content to users. WWF is able to increase the effectiveness of their calls-to-action, offering new or deeper ways for visitors to contribute, as opposed to simply static or repetitive asks.
Ruby on Rails
Using the open-source yet highly standardized web framework, WWF now has a content management system (CMS) that works the way they do. Their staff is able to publish stories and work with content swiftly and efficiently, and without the distractions (and more often obstacles) intrinsic to off-the-shelf products. Training on the system, given its uncomplicated and tailored construction, is negligible, meaning more of the organization is able to participate in managing the site.
Our work with the talented, impassioned folks at WWF provided Viget a number of rare and fun opportunities, and today we're thrilled to share the results of all that work and the new WorldWildlife.org.
Side Note: During the course of the project, we published a few blog posts that go into detail about particular aspects of our work. Be sure to check them out for some behind-the-scenes specifics.
