By 2025 the site had grown to thousands of pages on Drupal. Menus were heavy, long pages hid key info, and phones were an afterthought. The research library was a basic link to Presto with no live search. Pages felt slow and key actions like Donate and Contact were easy to miss.
I moved the site to WordPress with a custom theme, Elementor for editing, and ACF for structured content. We rebuilt the menu and page templates so people can find services, contact the team, and donate without digging. I added a live link to the Presto system with an AJAX search so reports filter in place. Titles, descriptions, schema, caching, and smaller images made pages faster and easier to find.
Reorganize and migrate a massive library into a clear structure. Make the site work well on phones. Build a direct way to search the research library with current results. Lift speed and visibility. Bring Donate and program inquiries forward.
I led UX, UI, and front end from kickoff to launch. I mapped the new structure and built wireframes in Figma. I designed the UI in Figma and prepared assets in Photoshop and Illustrator. I built a custom WordPress theme with Elementor and ACF, and wrote HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with a light touch of jQuery. I planned the Presto API connection, the SEO setup, and the content move from Drupal, working with Wilder’s comms and IT teams.
The site is faster, easier to read, and easier to manage. In the first month, more people visited and came back. More visitors reached the Donate page, and more completed the mental health form. We also saw growth from outside the region. Staff now update pages in minutes, and the research library works the way people expect.
I condensed the menu and set up consistent templates so every page type has a clear home. Mobile came first. On a phone, Find Services, Contact, and Donate sit up front. Short sections, clear headings, and simple paths keep people moving.
I applied Wilder’s colors, type, and imagery with lots of white space and high contrast. The theme includes reusable blocks in Elementor, plus custom CSS and small scripts where needed. ACF fields let editors fill in heroes, CTAs, related links, and staff info without touching code.
I set up custom post types and taxonomies to match how Wilder works. We moved content from Drupal with scripts and manual checks. I built a Presto API connection and an AJAX search so users can filter reports by topic, author, and date without reloading. I added meta, headings, and schema, turned on caching and minification, and compressed media to cut load time. We tested across devices and shipped with staff training and docs.
The site is faster, easier to read, and easier to manage. In the first month, more people visited and came back. More visitors reached the Donate page, and more completed the mental health form. We also saw growth from outside the region. Staff now update pages in minutes, and the research library works the way people expect.
