Streamlining Resources: Smarter Navigation, Enhanced Search, and Structured Content

Project Overview

10 Pound Gorilla was brought on by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to help them redesign and restructure their website and content management system. With over 3,000 resources available to state legislatures nationwide, NCSL needed to intuitively structure its resource library for end-users and support adding more resources over time.

Key Takeaways

Streamlined Resource Management – Consolidated thousands of resources into five structured templates, making content easier to manage and maintain.
Enhanced Search Functionality – Developed a custom search tool with advanced filtering options, allowing users to quickly find relevant resources.
Efficient Content Migration – Successfully transferred content from a large legacy site into a structured system, improving organization and usability.
Simplified Content Editing – Implemented structured content to reduce editing time and enable more staff members to manage content safely.
Improved Accessibility – Ensured compliance with WCAG AA accessibility guidelines, making the website more inclusive for all users.
Scalable for Future Growth – Established a strong digital foundation that allows NCSL to continue expanding its resource library efficiently.

What we focused on

Custom Search Tool

As part of this project, we designed and developed a custom search tool that helps end-users flexibly search for resources. By offering search with multiple tools to filter down by topics, categories, publish date ranges, and resource type (like events, maps, PDFs, videos, webinars, etc), end-users have a lot of control to search amongst thousands of resources quickly.

Ease of Editing

The NCSL website project included building and transferring content from a large legacy site and migrating the content into structured content. Using structured content, we have reduced the time NCSL staff spends editing content while allowing more staff members to manage content safely.

Accessibility

As part of our content transfer and page-build process, we were able to run each page through accessibility scans to ensure the website meets WCAG AA accessibility guidelines.

Project Challenges, Successes & Lessons Learned

The greatest challenge of this project was the sheer volume of content and the complexity of transferring it into structured content. To tackle this, we developed a strategic approach that streamlined content migration while ensuring accuracy, consistency, and accessibility. By leveraging structured content, we not only simplified content management for NCSL staff but also enhanced the website's usability for end-users.

Overall, the NCSL website redesign highlights the power of thoughtful organization and structured content. 10 Pound Gorilla and NCSL collaborated closely throughout the project—from planning and development to accessibility testing—ensuring a seamless transition to a modern, user-friendly, and scalable platform. This project not only improves the immediate user experience but also establishes a strong foundation for NCSL's future digital growth, allowing the organization to continue expanding its resource library efficiently.

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