Quick Summary
Main focus: rebuilding the organization’s schedule, event, fundraiser, and gallery systems into a much more organized and maintainable “Our Program” page that better serves both current families and new visitors.
Replacing “Our Times/Events”
This week focused on building what became the “Our Program” page.
On the old website, this section was called “Our Times/Events,” which honestly felt awkward and unclear.
It technically contained:
- practice schedules
- fundraiser information
- show dates
- and banquet details
but everything was compressed together into one very cluttered page that was difficult to read and even harder to update.
One of the biggest problems with the original site overall was that information often existed—but it was presented in ways that made it difficult for users to actually understand or use.
So renaming this page to Our Program immediately felt more:
- welcoming
- descriptive
- modern
- and easier for visitors to understand
especially for new families unfamiliar with the organization.
Building Better Communication Systems
One thing I kept thinking about throughout this redesign process was how heavily Gliding Stars depended on its Facebook group for updates and communication.
That created several issues:
- updates were easy to miss
- information became buried over time
- non-members could not easily access updates
- and there was no centralized public information hub
So one of the very first additions to this page was an announcement/update system.
At the top of the page is a highlighted announcement box that can easily be enabled or disabled directly inside the text file.
That means volunteers can quickly post updates such as:
- schedule changes
- fundraiser announcements
- show information
- T-shirt ordering windows
- registration updates
- or weather cancellations
without needing to edit complicated page layouts.
That may sound like a small feature, but honestly, it solves one of the biggest communication weaknesses the organization previously had online.
Highlighting the Season Structure
Another major improvement was emphasizing the organization’s annual events much more clearly.
The old site mentioned the ice show and banquet briefly, but they felt buried within large blocks of centered text.
Now the page highlights major recurring events individually:
- Skate with the Otters
- the Annual Ice Show
- and the Banquet
Each event is displayed as its own clean visual card with:
- date
- time
- and location information
I also intentionally highlighted the annual ice show card visually because it is:
- the culmination of the season
- the organization’s biggest public-facing event
- and often the first exposure many community members have to Gliding Stars
That small visual distinction helps communicate importance immediately.
Making the Schedule Actually Usable
The practice schedule was another major area of improvement.
The old schedule formatting was difficult to scan quickly, especially on mobile devices.
Now the schedule system is:
- structured
- easy to update
- visually organized
- and much easier to read
One thing I especially liked about this system was how maintainable it became behind the scenes.
Instead of needing to manually rebuild layouts every season, volunteers can simply update:
- dates
- extra sessions
- and downloadable PDFs
directly inside the markdown file.
That was a huge design priority for me throughout the project: creating systems that feel manageable for non-technical users.
Because realistically, if updating the website becomes intimidating, it eventually stops getting updated entirely—which is exactly what seemed to happen with parts of the old site.
Designing Around Real Organizational Needs
One thing this page really reflects is how much more I understood the organization by this point in the internship.
Earlier in the semester, I mostly viewed the website from a design perspective.
Now I was thinking much more about:
- communication flow
- volunteer usability
- family accessibility
- and long-term sustainability
For example: the additional show-preparation practices are now clearly separated from regular Monday sessions.
That may seem minor, but after attending rehearsals myself, I understood how important those extra practices become during show season.
Likewise, the fundraiser section now has its own dedicated structure rather than being squeezed awkwardly into unrelated content.
That creates much clearer communication for families while also giving the organization room to expand fundraiser information later if needed.
Building a Better Gallery System
The photo gallery section was probably the most technically frustrating part of the page.
The original website technically had galleries, but they mostly felt like giant image dumps:
- tightly packed together
- inconsistent sizing
- little spacing
- and almost no organization
So I wanted the new gallery system to feel much cleaner and more event-focused.
Now galleries are separated by:
- banquet
- Halloween party
- and eventually other events and seasons
instead of every image simply being thrown together.
I also designed the system so new galleries can easily be added directly through the markdown file without needing to rebuild the layout itself.
The hardest challenge by far was handling different image aspect ratios.
Some photos are:
- horizontal
- some vertical
- and others mixed
and making all of those adapt nicely across desktop and mobile layouts became surprisingly difficult.
The gallery system is definitely still a work in progress, but even in its current state, it already feels dramatically more polished and maintainable than before.
Thinking About Accessibility
Another thing I began taking much more seriously on this page was accessibility.
For example, each image now includes alt text fields for screen readers and search engines.
That was completely missing from the previous site.
I also added detailed instructional comments throughout the markdown files explaining:
- what each field does
- how updates work
- and how future volunteers can safely edit content
That documentation may never be seen publicly, but honestly, it is one of the most important parts of the rebuild.
Because a website only remains useful if future people can actually maintain it confidently.
Reflection
This week felt less flashy than building the homepage, but honestly, it may have been one of the most important parts of the entire redesign.
The “Our Program” page is where the website truly starts functioning as an actual communication tool instead of just an informational brochure.
Compared to the original website, this new version feels:
- significantly clearer
- easier to update
- easier to navigate
- more visually organized
- and much more useful for both families and new visitors.
Most importantly, it reflects how much my mindset had shifted throughout the internship.
At the beginning, I mostly wanted to make the site look better.
By this point, I was much more focused on:
- solving communication problems
- reducing confusion
- improving maintainability
- and helping the organization function more effectively long-term.
Next Steps
- Begin building the volunteer and donation pages
- Continue refining gallery responsiveness and image layouts
- Finalize mobile spacing and usability improvements
- Continue simplifying backend editing systems for volunteers
- Prepare the remaining pages for final testing and review