Crafted Future: Code for Good

Creating meaningful social change isn’t the work of a single person or organization—it’s the result of collaboration. Nonprofits, agencies, and digital platforms must work together to tell compelling stories, expand reach, and inspire action.

That spirit of collaboration was the focus of Crafted Future: Code for Good, a virtual event exploring what it takes to design digital experiences that move people to make a difference.

From storytelling to strategy, attendees learned how a new website for Brooklyn Org reinvigorated the nonprofit’s digital presence to inspire community action, and even earned a Webby Award for its efforts.

What is Crafted Future?

Crafted with Code, now in its sixth year, is an annual showcase sponsored by WP Engine that highlights impressive Webby-recognized projects built on WordPress^Ⓡ[1].

Crafted Future is a virtual event series that dives deeper into Crafted with Code stories, sharing unique insights into key considerations for planning, producing, and optimizing Webby-worthy projects.

You can find all the previous Crafted Future discussions on The Webby Awards’ YouTube channel.

Meet the panel

The Webby Awards General Manager Nick Borenstein moderated this Crafted Future panel and was joined by WP Engine Senior Manager of Agency Partnerships Suzi Gaiser, Teal Media Technical Director Austin Whipple, and President & CEO of Brooklyn Org Jocelynne Rainey.

Together, they recounted how their teams collaborated to bring Brooklyn Org’s mission to life online.

What does it mean to code for good?

The panel opened with a broad discussion of what it actually means to code for good. Teal Media has 16 years of experience doing just that as an agency with a reputation for producing “creative with a conscience.”

Rainey was quick to point out the intricacies of what coding for good truly entails, as the digital presence of a nonprofit—much like the individuals who work for it—has to fulfill various needs.

“I think building for good is understanding that you have a lot of different stakeholders that you’re bringing to the table through your website,” said Rainey. 

“You want to make sure that there’s something there for everyone—there are donors, folks who want to volunteer, nonprofits, people looking for services, staff members, and board members—so it has to be a place where everyone is welcome.”

Creating a well-branded website that shares an organization’s message and fulfills essential user needs is no small task, so the conversation drilled in on how Teal Media worked with Brooklyn Org and WP Engine to craft a clear, compelling message on a foundation built for growth.

The Brooklyn Org project

The new Brooklyn Org project came from a stroke of genius sprinkled with luck. The organization, formerly named Mother New York, was looking for a way to narrow its message and speak more directly to residents of Brooklyn, a borough with a population large enough to make it the third-largest city in the United States.

“My Chief of Staff had been keeping an eye on the brooklyn.org URL, which had not been purchased, recognizing that it was a great opportunity for us to reach a larger audience,” said Rainey. 

“We went through a rebranding process, and the website inspired the new name. We consider ourselves Brooklyn’s organization, so this helped us tell our story a lot better.”

With a new name and a domain to match, the organization partnered with Teal Media to start conceptualizing its new digital home.

“While we’re the experts in some aspects,” said Austin Whipple, “it’s really the clients who are the most expert in their own communities, so it’s about pairing our knowledge together.”

Using WordPress as the core CMS, a new custom theme, and a large library of flexible components, all built upon WP Engine’s managed WordPress hosting, Teal Media was able to build a digital solution that meets the various needs of Brooklyn Org. 

The new site espouses Brooklyn Org’s mission in a way that speaks to its vast network of nonprofits, donors, volunteers, and individuals seeking resources or assistance.

A digital home with connection at the core

Collaboration between Brooklyn Org, Teal Media, and WP Engine was vital in keeping the development of the new site on track, and everyone had their roles to play. 

The Brooklyn Org team, being closest to the mission, worked closely with Teal Media to ensure every element felt intentional. WP Engine also worked closely with the agency from a technical perspective to meet their needs.

“The way that I always give the analogy is that WP Engine is essentially the plot where someone wants to build their dream website,” said Suzi Gaiser. 

“We then work with agencies like Teal Media, the digital architects who can build that dream site. Our platform is where the house lives, so we want to ensure it’s performant, scalable, and secure.”

Teal Media—the architects of Brooklyn Org’s new digital home—then have to make judgment calls about how to provide the best experience, both for end users and for the individuals who will continue to make updates and create new content down the line.

“It’s about setting reasonable guardrails. There are a lot of WordPress page builders out there, and you can do a lot of good with those or a lot of damage. Not every organization has dedicated website management folks,” said Whipple.

“We build sets of components which are then used to compose individual pages. It’s like a page builder but slightly more restrictive, so we’re not asking a busy comms staffer to sit down for an hour and craft a press release,” he continues. 

“We just ask for the content a page needs to contain, check a couple of boxes for taxonomy, click publish, and it’s up there. It’s related to other relevant content and matches the brand standards we set out at the start of the project.”

With the foundation in place and the architects happy with the build, the organization can continue to expand upon a clear, authentic, and consistent message. Even as they grow, find new audiences, and publish new content, the Brooklyn Org site will still feel deeply connected to and rooted in its community.

“Being clear, being concise, and being true to who you are as an organization is really important,” said Rainey. 

“Making sure folks have a place to go to hear your story is critical.”

Keep crafting the future of the web with WP Engine

Thank you to our partners at the Webby Awards for your continued partnership, and to Dr. Rainey and Austin Whipple for sharing your time and insights. We’ll continue to share more Crafted With Code stories throughout the year, so stay tuned to the WP Engine blog to check out even more Webby-worthy projects!

Looking for a plot to build your next great digital destination? Join us this Thursday to learn why digital architects trusted WP Engine as the foundation for 43% of Webby-nominated sites built with WordPress this year!