The Development Gateway Foundation is an international nonprofit organization that provides web-based platforms to make aid and development efforts more effective around the world.

Challenge:
The website was perceived by users to be the entry point into the flagship resource DG Communities — DGF needed to promote its brand and other products and to engage casual users rather than just community members. DGF also needed to streamline and simplify the navigational structure and access to valuable content.

Solution:
DGF engaged Hodgson to redesign a number of their web properties and execute the following:

• Strategic branding assistance to help solidify the DGF brand message and position the Foundation as a leader reducing poverty and enabling change in developing nations through information technology
• Enhancement to DGF’s existing technology team’s capabilities by providing creative user interface design
• A navigational structure and information architecture that clearly articulated the DGF brand and supported the online strategies of affiliates
• HTML 508 compliant developed templates along with a web standards style guide

Result:
The redesign effort achieved the following:

• Reduced homepage abandonment
• Increased loyalty from users (both page views and time spent browsing)
• Increased activity on all web properties due to intuitive navigation
  

View:
www.dgfoundation.org (foundation website)
www.developmentgateway.org (foundation portal to online tools)