Nonprofit Education Website Redesign
Fairfield County Agricultural Extension Council
Summary
The Fairfield County Agricultural Extension Council (FCAEC) is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the University of Connecticut’s (UConn) Extension Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support and promote the conduct of Extension programs, including educational programs, community gardening, youth development, and sustainability resources to Fairfield County residents.
When they contacted me, their website was outdated, hard to navigate, and no longer reflected their current programs. Their leaders aimed to increase public engagement, clarify their services, and make it easier for staff to update content on their own. My objective was to lead a thorough, UX-focused redesign that would simplify FCAEC’s content, create accessible paths for its varied audiences, and deliver a responsive website that could be easily maintained after launch.
Discovery & Research
To inform the redesign, I conducted a comprehensive discovery phase that included:
- Content inventory
- Persona refinement to identify the unique needs of key user groups
- Competitive analysis of the extension centers and agricultural nonprofits
- Stakeholder interviews with board members and UConn Extension partners
Key insights: Users struggled to find program information, navigate outdated menus, and understand the organization’s impact.
Define & Ideate
With insights gathered, I developed a new information architecture and labeled key site sections using user-first language:
- Reorganized a sitemap to surface program areas, events, and donation paths
- Simplified menu labels for clarity
- Iterated on wireframes for the Home, About, Extension Programs, Events, and Volunteer pages
- Highlighted storytelling opportunities and future implementation areas
The Client
The Fairfield County
Agricultural Extension Council
Bethel, CT
Sector
Nonprofit Education
Role
Lead Product Designer
Team
Executive Director
Project Manager
Lead Product Designer
Web Team
Tools
Figma, WordPress, Adobe CC, MS Excel
Final Site Architecture
Extension Program Wireframe Template
Design Execution
The visual design combined a clean, modern layout with subtle cues drawn from agricultural themes and UConn Extension’s brand guidelines. Using WordPress and block-based page builders, I created responsive templates that supported staff-friendly content editing without sacrificing structure or design consistency. Accessibility was a priority from the beginning, with strong contrast ratios, clear type hierarchy, and scalable mobile navigation.
High-fidelity mockups were created in Figma and transformed into a working prototype, which we used to test key interactions, including volunteer interest forms and navigation flows. Once finalized, I collaborated closely with the developer to migrate content and perform quality assurance on the site before launch.
Extension Program Heros
Impact and Results
The redesigned FCAEC website launched in April 2025 with significant improvements to usability and accessibility. The streamlined navigation, responsive design, and clear pathways make the site more intuitive and inviting for a broad audience. Early feedback from staff and board members highlighted how much easier it is to manage updates internally and how the new design better reflects the professionalism of the organization. While promotional efforts have not yet begun and measurable engagement results are not available, the redesign provides FCAEC with a strong, scalable foundation to grow awareness and serve its community more effectively in the future.
