LeadingAge
About LeadingAge
LeadingAge (previously known as the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging) is an association of 5,400 not-for-profit organizations dedicated to expanding the world of possibilities for aging. The organization advances policies, promotes practices, and conducts research that supports, enables, and empowers people to live fully as they age.
The Challenge
LeadingAge (www.leadingage.org) needed a technology partner to help them refresh their site’s information architecture, graphic design, navigation, and content management functionality. When originally developed, the LeadingAge site had been built without fully utilizing the inherent functionality of the Ektron CMS which powered it: there was little to no workflow, content entry was cumbersome and not standardized, and the site was rife with “Link Farms” without taking advantage of the robust Ektron search to access content.
The Solution
Hodgson began the LeadingAge project by conducting a thorough audit and assessment of www.aahsa.org (their former website), including production of a new information architecture, analysis of site user goals, and an in-depth SEO analysis with keyword recommendations.
Hodgson was able to utilize the results of the audit and assessment, as well as LeadingAge’s rebranding efforts, to produce a new look and feel for their website by creating a site interface that highlights, organizes, and displays content in a user-friendly and easy-to-access manner.
In developing the Ektron CMS, Hodgson utilized Taxonomy tagging for improving content organization and the speed at which search results are returned. In addition, Hodgson eliminated the link farms by organizing content under these headings: Sections, Sub-Sections, and Articles. This development process also allowed us to take full advantage of the capabilities of Ektron’s powerful site search.
After developing the above functionalities, Hodgson was able to automate the process through which LeadingAge creates their weekly and monthly newsletters; this automation was built into the site. Hodgson developers also created smart forms in Ektron to allow for easy entry of content by LeadingAge content providers.
Hodgson utilized a project manager, online marketing experts, and information architect / content strategist, a DBA, a designer, developers, and a QA / QC resource over a period of twelve months to assess, redesign, develop, and integrate LeadingAge’s web properties.