Reaching Constituents and Newcomers More Effectively Online
INTERNSHIP
WORDPRESS
Context
Internship
Role
UX Designer
Tools
Wordpress
Duration
May - Aug 2025
THE PROBLEM
Genesis uses many disconnected communication tools to communicate with constituents.
Genesis Church Petoskey is a non-denominational church serving communities across northern Michigan, with a growing congregation of around seven hundred attendees each week. With this growth comes a deep desire for connection. People want to stay informed, get involved, and build meaningful relationships within the church.
Genesis offers many events, groups, and activities to support spiritual growth and community, yet many attendees shared frustration about not knowing where to find this information. Important details were often scattered across platforms, making it difficult for people to stay connected.
Although the church has a website, attendees did not trust it as a reliable source due to outdated or hard-to-find content. As a result, people felt disconnected and uncertain about how to engage.
My role was to rebuild that trust by creating a website that is clear, reliable, and easy to use, so attendees can confidently find information and feel more connected to the church community.
THE SOLUTION
A streamlined website that simplifies content management and improves communication across the broader church community.
To see full website, click here.
The Process
01 RESEARCH
Understanding the Problem Space
To better understand the problem space, I began my design process with research. I started with a literature review on church websites, focusing on how they can effectively serve both existing members and newcomers.
Next, I conducted a comparative analysis of other church websites, both local and global, to identify common structures, design patterns, and features used to engage diverse audiences.
Building on these findings, I moved into primary research through interviews. These conversations explored how Genesis constituents perceived the church’s communication systems overall, then focused more specifically on the website. I interviewed participants with varying levels of involvement to capture a range of perspectives.
Key Insights
This research led me to some key findings based on the different audience groups.
Newcomers
People who are considering visiting Genesis often turn to the website to get a sense of the church’s culture and to find basic information such as service times, location, and what to expect. While this information is generally accessible, once visitors attend a service or two, they struggle to find clear next steps for getting more deeply connected.
Regular Attendees
I discovered that most constituents rarely used the website because they viewed it as unreliable and outdated. As a result, they lacked a single, trusted source of information and instead had to rely on multiple platforms to stay informed.
Through a comparative analysis of local and larger church websites, social media channels, and broader discussions on church communication, several themes emerged:
Websites function best as long-term communication hubs. A clearly structured website, especially one supported by an event calendar, helps both newcomers and long-time members easily access timely, reliable information.
Visibility of community opportunities is essential. Highlighting small groups, ministries, and pathways to involvement directly on the homepage helps users move from attendance to deeper connection.
Clear mission messaging builds trust and clarity. A strong visual or concise tagline at the top of the site quickly communicates a church’s identity and values, helping users understand what to expect.
Social media is temporary; owned platforms are foundational. Because social platforms are inherently short-lived, long-term systems like the website and email communication are critical for reliable, sustainable information sharing.
02 DESIGN
Integrating Findings into the Platform
The research findings guided me into the analysis and design phase. I began by developing a new information hierarchy centered on the terms and topics users most often searched for, informed by interviews with both constituents and staff members.
Specifically, some key changes in the new hierarchy were:
A new "Get Involved" section, housing information about events, how to connect, and serve.
Moving important buttons into the navigation menu.
Intentional UX wording to improve understanding by constituents.
From there, I created mid-fidelity mockups in Figma to visualize the updated structure and layout. After receiving approval from the Genesis staff, I implemented the designs in WordPress.
As part of this process, I updated the navigation menu to reflect the new hierarchy and reorganized key sections to align with the user insights gathered during research. I also updated the fonts and colors to better align with the branding of the organization.
Mid-Fidelity Mockup
Wordpress Design
03 IMPACT
A Platform that Prioritizes the People
The updates I was able to make to the Genesis Church website have already made a significant impact. Congregants can now easily find the information they need, improving overall usability and reducing frustration when directed to the site.
Newcomers are also better supported, with clear access to essential details about Genesis, such as service times, locations, and community opportunities, helping them feel more confident and welcomed.
Beyond usability, this project has begun shifting the congregation’s perception of the website itself. By improving reliability, organization, and ease of use, we’re encouraging people to view the site as a trustworthy, central source for church communication.