Squarespace Design for Colorado Rail Historical Society
Colorado Rail Preservation Society Gets an Upgraded Website in Squarespace
Agave Studio creates new Squarespace site for the Colorado-Based South Park Rail SOciety
We’ve gotten to design and develop some sites for some really cool companies and organizations over the past couple of months, and the South Park Rail Society is no different. Based in the gorgeous setting of South Park, yes… that South Park, Colorado, the SPRS has tasked themselves with restoring the historic 1881 Como Roundhouse, featured front and center on their new website, and surrounding former railroad complex. We got in touch with the organization by chance and were more than happy to help them expand their digital presence with Squarespace.
The Brief
The organization’s former site was in desperate need of an upgrade, we’ll say that upfront. The website was informative, but hard to use and lacked a cohesive image. After discussing the site and the needs of the organization, the expert Colorado web designers and developers at Agave Studio got to work on a proposal and outline for the new site. This included transferring over the old site to a new Squarespace site, upgrading their donation functionality and ensuring the information on the site was up-to-date and there could be a spot for news and upcoming events.
The Process
The first order of business for the new site was coming up with a new sitemap and website plan. This included pages for the expansive history of the railroad and roundhouse plus pages on the plan for the organization. The website team at Agave Studio created a brand new site in Squarespace and set up all the essentials including pages for news, a store and an events page using the built-in Squarespace tools. This allows the society to post updates that not only keeps members and followers update, but also keeps the site updated for SEO purposes. The team also set up Squarespace email campaigns for the society and helped with getting a new domain and Gmail address.
Back in June, we were able to actually visit the Como Roundhouse and take pictures for the website. This was super helpful in building out the website since we had high quality images already available. The design team at Agave decided to go for a black and white filter on most of the imagery on the site. This allows the content to really stand out especially the calls to action. We also created a new logo for the society using the historic Denver, South Park and Pacific Railway Victorian era logo.
Additionally, the team at Agave Studio got the organization set up on the donation management platform DonorBox. This helps the society keep better track of online donations and donors to send out personalized “thank you” cards. The society’s memberships were also given an option to go digital with DonorBox, allowing members to automatically renew their yearly memberships online and continue to support the organization.
The Result
The new website for the South Park Rail Society is not only great to look at, it’s also easy to use for members to find the information they need or donate. The new site also includes a special “volunteer” section for new volunteers to sign up and see the monthly volunteer work days. All of this amounts to a radically expanded digital presence that will not only increase donations, but also memberships and interest in volunteering. Agave is incredibly honored to be able to support this organization that is so near and dear to us. If you’re in the South Park area southwest of Denver be sure to check out this gem in Como.
Are you a historical society in Colorado or beyond that’s looking to upgrade your website? Say howdy to the web design team at Agave Studio and we’ll be happy to book a consultation with you for a new site. Also, don’t forget to check out the South Park Rail Society’s site below.
