YMCA of Greater Nashua
User Experience, Website Design, Inbound Marketing and SEO
Strengthening the Foundations of Community
The YMCA of Greater Nashua operates four facilities (Nashua YMCA, Merrimack YMCA, Camp Sargent and Camp Spaulding). The primary program and service areas are: Child Care, Camping, Youth Sports, Teen Leadership, Health & Wellness, Aquatics, Dance and the Arts. The Y is a positive force in this community. Everything the Y does is in service of making us – as individuals and a community – better.
Website Design and Development
More than half of this Y’s website users are returning visitors. People use this site for a variety of reasons–to look up a class schedule, register for a program or learn about an upcoming event. It was important for the website to be designed in a way that made it easy to use for the current members, but also informative for people looking to learn more about the organization.
Quick and Easy Navigation
People who navigate to a website for a specific reason want the answer that they’re looking for fast. We created a search bar that picks up results throughout the website. Whether it’s a program, job posting or an event listing, the user can find it quickly. The menu itself is designed with a mobile first approach, so seeing what they’re looking for is easy–no matter their device.
Custom Daxko Information Display
Daxko is a great tool for internal operations, but we wanted to make sure it was also user friendly. With the custom program display, users are able to learn about every program without having to browse through another website.
Strategy and Goals
More than just an online brochure, we made sure this website is also a selling tool. By paying attention to the common questions people ask, and laying out the answers on the page in a way that is easy to understand, we can convert more customers without taking up the bandwidth of the Y staff.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing tools were put in place to start collecting leads. The Y was already offering tours and free passes to interested parties, so we took these offers and put them on the website as well. A user redeems the offer by filling out a form, and the front desk follows up with them. As time goes on, they will be able to market directly to these users using even more inbound marketing tactics.
User Experience Research
For a few weeks after launch, we kept track of the user experience using a few different tools. During this time, we were able to make quick changes to the website to make the experience even better. Even when you use best practices, website design is always an assumption. When you can really see what users are doing, that’s when the magic happens.
