Manchester based Charity, Caritas Salford, Is the domestic social action agency of the Catholic Diocese of Salford, and has been a steadfast support for local communities since its establishment in 2008. With a rich history dating back over a century, the organisation encompasses various charities and initiatives dedicated to addressing poverty, disadvantage, and discrimination. In 2023, Caritas Salford embarked on a transformative journey to revamp its digital presence through a strategic website development project.
Caritas Salford envisions a society characterised by justice, equality, and the amplification of the voices of those experiencing adversity. Their mission is to empower individuals in the Diocese of Salford facing poverty, disadvantage, and discrimination to transform their lives with dignity. The organisation aims to reduce societal challenges, increase awareness of Catholic Social Teaching, advocate for justice, and become a sustainable catalyst for change.
Recognising the need to stay “fit for purpose” and evolve with the changing needs of their communities, Caritas Salford initiated a new website project. The existing website seemed visually and technically outdated, and no longer represented the organisation’s current brand. It also presented challenges in terms of maintenance and security. The objective was clear – to build a modern website that truly reflects the brand, communicates effectively with diverse audiences, and facilitates the organisation’s growth ambitions.
Caritas Salford faced several challenges, including catering to multiple audiences, managing diverse service lines, and engaging with various stakeholders. The existing website’s technical issues and outdated appearance complicated matters more. The project involved the integration of multiple technologies, including Donorfy (for easy Donations and charitable giving), Citrus (to facilitate showcasing latest roles and simply job applications), and Assemble (a volunteer management system). The requirement to simply and accurately display the organisations array of 18 diverse services, across eight core service areas, added another layer of complication to the project.
A comprehensive solution was devised through a stakeholder workshop attended by key team members, including the website project manager, marketing executive, brand consultant, and digital designer. Our team worked collaboratively with the wider Caritas team of service heads, leadership, lived experience experts and the fundraising team to refine and hone the brief. The workshop aimed to understand user needs and establish consensus on the website’s format and structure. Key agenda items included defining objectives, identifying target audiences, creating a new sitemap, delivering accessibility standards, and mapping the customer journey for donations.
To achieve the desired end result, we strategized a new website project that included:
New Sitemap: A streamlined sitemap was developed to enhance content quality and user experience.
WordPress CMS: A transition to a new WordPress website was recommended, featuring editable templates for core pages, campaign landing pages, a dedicated Careers section linked to Citrus for job opportunities, and a Volunteer area integrated with Assemble for volunteer opportunities.
Modular Build: A modular build approach was proposed, providing templates with drag-and-drop and editing capabilities for easy day-to-day updates, ensuring the site’s futureproofing.
SEO Transition & Google Analytics: Comprehensive SEO transition measures were implemented, including the setup of Google Analytics 4, redirection planning, and checks for site speed, crawl errors, duplicate versions, broken links, and more.
Training Workshops: The team was equipped with the necessary skills through training workshops and recorded videos to independently manage and update the new website, enabling them to be autonomous and reduce future development costs. They can now make updates to the site in minutes and create impactful campaign pages quickly and easily, to drive donations where they’re needed most.
Caritas Salford successfully received a modern, professional website that aligns with its established and impactful stature. The new CMS facilitates efficient updates, reducing ongoing development costs. The modular site editor empowers the team to launch campaigns swiftly, laying the groundwork for future growth. Most recently, the team have used the new campaign pages to showcase their latest #BeeThere campaign, in time for Advent 2023. The landing page highlights the hero content of the campaign, a beautiful video called ‘Big dreams come from small change’, produced by the fantastically talented team of video and animation specialists at Doodledo as well as statistics, resources and opportunities to get involved and of course, options to donate.
The digital infrastructure now reflects the organisation’s commitment to staying relevant and impactful in the ever-evolving landscape. This Caritas Salford’s website transformation serves as a testament to the importance of strategic web development in enhancing an organisation’s outreach, engagement, and overall effectiveness. An organisations digital presence is paramount to their audience’s perception, and this is even more important in the non-profit sector where trust is vital to enhance the uptake of charitable giving.
By addressing challenges, incorporating stakeholder input, and leveraging modern technologies, Caritas Salford has positioned itself for continued success in supporting communities and championing positive change.
It is a complete pleasure to work with MP&Co. They understand how agencies can best support in-house teams, adding value in the right places and filling the gaps in a way that works brilliantly for the organisation. They also know how to integrate themselves seamlessly and really get to grips with a brief in super-quick time. They have supported Caritas Salford for several years, and most recently worked alongside me for our new website project. Their knowledge and expertise was invaluable and they also understood that as a charity with limited resources, every decision made was going to be key in maximising return on investment and driving impact and change in local communities. We were thrilled with the final result and are continuing to work with them for ongoing support too. Big thanks to the whole team – here’s to more successes and future projects that will continue to add value and make a difference to the lives of the local people we support.
Claire Briscoe, Communications Manager, Caritas Salford
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