Fresh Thinking
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Aerial view of Indian Creek Nature Center campus showing main building, grounds, and surrounding wooded landscape

Indian Creek Nature Center

When accessibility is the standard, the experience is better for everyone. See how we partnered with Indian Creek Nature Center to transform their website to meet ADA requirements, attract more visitors, and be a welcoming digital space for all.

Directional signpost with three arrows pointing right
Potted plant with leaves, symbolizing growth and fresh ideas
Hand holding a sprouting plant with two leaves, symbolizing growth and care

Uncover & Understand

We’ve had the privilege of working with Indian Creek Nature Center for years on everything from branding to website development and site maintenance. Aligning our approach with ICNC’s mission, we saw the perfect opportunity to refine their site to reach peak accessibility.

Our web development process always starts with discovery. We sat down with the team at ICNC to ask questions, understand their preferences and goals, and find inspiration from other sites. We also analyzed their current site traffic to pinpoint their most popular pages. We used that information to develop a full sitemap outlining navigation, specific pages, and information hierarchy.

Before

Child in blue shirt examining a small dark object held in an adult's hands during a nature education activity

Ideate & Implement

From the jump, we recommended updates to several aspects of Indian Creek Nature Center’s site:

Navigation and Structure:

Prioritizing menu items, updating event pages, and auditing blogs to prioritize popular topics and account for cognitive load.

Media Text Alternatives:

Descriptive alt tags and ARIA attributes to make aspects like images and applications accessible to those with disabilities.

ADA Compliance Statement:

A written commitment to accessibility with a process for users to submit a form if they encounter any site areas that aren’t fully accessible.

Color and Contrast:

Intentional color usage and font displays to accommodate users with visual impairments and color blindness.

When it came to color and contrast, our design and web team even created a custom color palette. The document includes recommended text colors, background colors, and aspect ratios for specific uses, like headings and body text. This guidance on color combinations informed ICNC’s brand standards and was an immediate asset to staff.

Table showing Indian Creek Nature Center brand color combinations with contrast ratios and ADA compliance levels for web accessibility

After

Refine & Refresh

The web development updates led to an uptick in site performance.

The benefits of a revamped site and ongoing maintenance go well beyond basic accessibility. Expanded reach, enriched reputation, and an improved user experience that keeps people on the site longer.

And thanks to the ongoing support and maintenance we provide, ICNC will never have to wonder if its site meets the latest accessibility and performance standards.

The Refreshingly Meaningful Part

Helping a nonprofit transform and maintain a website that’s accessible to all. That’s a breath of fresh air.