Project Summary and Client Background
The Okaloosa County Economic Development Council had a website that was built by Bit-Wizards years ago on Kentico version 7, and was in need of an upgrade, redesign, and restructure of their website.
The Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County is the community's primary organization tasked with improving the area's economy through the attraction and retention of new, diversified employment opportunities and capital investments. The Okaloosa EDC was constituted in 1989 and serves as a non-profit public/private partnership.
The Challenge
The Okaloosa EDC website was built on an old version of Kentico CMS and contained a great deal of content. This excess content made it difficult for site selectors to easily identify county location information and available properties in the area. The client also required training on best practices of content structure, development, and overall use of the new version of Kentico.
Project Goals
The Okaloosa County Economic Development Council had a website that was built by Bit-Wizards years ago on Kentico version 7. They needed an upgrade, redesign, and content restructure.
- More effectively showcase their investors on the homepage of the website.
- Benefit from the speed and new functionality of Kentico version 10.
- Learn best practices of content management and development.
- Provide a more engaging and simplified user experience.
- Update web design to improve EDC membership enrollment and interest in investing in the local area.
The Solution
The content of the website had to be scaled down dramatically but required client meetings and collaboration to determine the correct content to retain and the appropriate way to structure it. During content assessments, three key audiences were identified site selectors (individuals looking for property for development purposes), prospective investors, and people seeking employment opportunities. For each audience, a section was added on the home page to facilitate navigation to relevant content.
With the restructuring of the content of the site, it was essential to the client to give each investor appropriate visibility and exposure on the OEDC site. A JavaScript carousel was implemented on the home page to display the logos at random and have them auto-scroll every few seconds. Also, a page type is used in the display of sponsors and contains links to their respective websites.
A Google maps API was added to the Available Properties page to facilitate familiarization of site selectors with the Okaloosa County area. The main landmarks and roadways are showcased to provide a comprehensive picture of the locations and the value in the area.
Kentico forms are used for the Contact Us and Roundtable Registration pages which facilitate capturing potential investors as well as event tracking.
During the development of the website, the client finalized their content, so it was essential that the site be flexible to allow for different content layouts. Bit-Wizards Solution Delivery team stood up a new instance of Kentico 10. They then built custom widgets and to allow for the manipulation of various page layouts across the new site. They coded the user interface of the responsive site using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Bit-Wizards also configured Google Analytics appropriately for tracking website analytics. Bit-Wizards employed best SEO practices to increase quality traffic to the site.
The Result
The client is pleased with the new design and ease of functionality that comes with the out-of-the-box Kentico CMS. Their primary goal to feature their investors was achieved and they look forward to using Google analytics to get more insight into their website traffic. Future site enhancements include the integration of a job search API to the Talent Attraction section of the site to offer career search capabilities for tech jobs in the Okaloosa County area.