The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to examining how genuine democracies can develop in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and how the United States can best support that process. Through dialogue, research, and advocacy, POMED works to strengthen the constituency for U.S. policies that peacefully support democratic reform in the MENA region.
The challenges posed by POMED’s old website were multifaceted. Overall, it did not fully represent their updated brand effectively, and its lack of full website responsiveness created an obstacle for a significant portion of their audience accessing their site through mobile devices. The site also had a back-end content structure that did not scale well as various types of content were being added to the site over the years, making it challenging for site managers to organize content and visitors to find relevant information.
In essence, while the website still proved to be valuable to its user base, there were many opportunities to more effectively represent the brand, improve the user experience, and more efficiently manage the large volume of content.
Web Strategy
Our first crucial step involved conducting a comprehensive assessment of the organization’s objectives and challenges. We delved into a thorough examination of web pain points, technical issues, and assessed the diverse composition of POMED’s user base. This analysis laid the foundation for our strategic approach, ensuring that the redesigned website not only addresses the immediate concerns but also aligned with the overarching goals of the organization, offering a user-centric solution that overcomes obstacles and enhances the overall digital experience.
Information Architecture
POMED’s website is comprised of various types of content containing multiple data points — similar to a news site – and to better align the website with our client’s specific needs, we initiated a thorough assessment of the existing content structure. Our primary goal was to improve the site’s tagging system in order to better organize content, interconnect various data points, and make it easier for information to be found on both the front and back end. Through our approach, we worked hand in hand with POMED’s team to ensure that the new content tagging structure better served their ability to scale while also improving the user experience through cleaner and more intuitive site navigation and searchability.
Design
During our design phase we aimed to strike a balance between the aesthetics of POMED’s updated brand identity and the ability for the design to be functional. Through use of color, typography, imagery and layout design, we worked to create a modern and professional online presence. Streamlined navigation, intuitive layout, and responsive design elements were strategically employed to make the website more user-friendly, ensuring that visitors can effortlessly engage with the content, products and services that POMED offers. This comprehensive approach to visual design and UI improvements aimed to leave a lasting and positive impression on their audience, fostering a strong connection with their brand.
Web Development
We made the website fully responsive, ensuring it seamlessly adapts to various devices, providing an optimal viewing experience for all users. Furthermore, through the content reconstruction and streamlined navigation improved the user’s ability to find what they’re looking for. Using a user-friendly content management system empowered their team to efficiently update and maintain the website in the future.
Increase in Engagement Rate from Mobile Devices
Increase in Engagement Rate from Desktop Devices
Increase in Organic Traffic*
*Using normalized data
Statistics are measured and compared using 90 day YoY data sample.
