Projects / Cate School

Improved User Experience and Design Kicks Off School Year

PROJECT SCOPE

  • Website design
  • Website development
  • WordPress consulting
  • UI/UX optimization
  • Website Management

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The Client

When you arrive at The Cate School, you can feel the “spirit” of the school washing over you, from the warm sun to the ocean breeze to the students rushing about. With a backdrop of the Carpinteria, California mountains, the vision of founder Curtis Wolsey Cate to meld the rigor of the East Coast with the adventurous spirit of the West Coast comes to life.

The school, established in 1910, is an independent coeducational college preparatory boarding school. It was founded on four pillars: commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service. Every member of the school’s staff and 300+ students abide by these principles to contribute to a reputation of excellence.

Faculty and staff also teach students to be committed and care for one another, and many community members take advantage of the school’s 150 acres of land and their proximity to the mountains and the beach.

With 18+ foreign countries and 25+ states represented within the school’s student body, Cate prides itself on their global reach.

“We are committed to offering a really strong academic program that’s also mindful of our community, both locally and globally,” said Director of Marketing & Communications at the Cate School Avani Patel Shah.

The Challenge

In May 2021, Cate’s website needed a new navigation that was user-friendly and consistent across the entire site. The goal was for users to be able to find the information they needed in three clicks or less. Cate also wanted to optimize the loading speeds for the many large and high resolution photos and videos on their website.

Additionally, they requested redesigns of all internal pages to creatively reflect the newly revamped Cate branding guidelines.

“We had a general understanding of what was working for us, but we wanted to take it up a notch,” said Patel.

Cate is already known for their robust academic programs; now they wanted their website to reflect that level of excellence.

“They were willing to do the work in a way that was really heartfelt and meaningful and in a place like Cate, where we are using a tool like a website to market our community, having that heart is so important.”
AVANI PATEL SHAH
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS, CATE SCHOOL

Project Highlights

  • Created a new user-friendly, universal navigation system
  • Redesigned internal pages to reflect Cate’s brand and spirit
  • Optimized loading speeds for photos and videos
  • SEO improvements

The Solution

Digital Ink approached Cate with a warm and collaborative spirit – but also with specificity on how to overcome their web challenges; one of the many things that impressed Patel.

“They had a plan for any one of the various challenges that we had on the table and they had a very clear and actionable roadmap in place,” said Patel. “It was a strategic approach with corresponding tactics that were going to be effective.”

In the summer of 2021, Digital Ink provided a comprehensive redesign strategy that outlined a new navigation system and page layouts that both fit and elevated Cate School’s overall brand.

The updated navigation featured a redesigned mega menu with specific submenu items to naturally direct users to core topics such as Academics, Admissions, and Athletics.

Additionally, Digital Ink incorporated a sophisticated search function on the website that empowered users to type in keywords and receive relevant results from pages throughout the entire site. The new and improved mega menu, in combination with the functional search bar, ensures that users are always able to find what they’re looking for with minimal effort.

“Our previous website had search functionality that was non-existent; it did not work correctly at all. The new one is perfect – it does exactly what it’s supposed to do,” said Patel.

The goal was for users to be able to find the information they needed in three clicks or less.

Results

In just two months, Digital Ink created a universal search, redesigned the navigation system, and rebuilt more than 250 internal pages using styles that reflected Cate’s branding. The redesign was launched in time for the new school year, and went on to win a Web Excellence Award in May 2022.

With the user-friendly navigation in place, users are able to more easily find what they’re looking for, and as a result Cate’s staff receive fewer calls and emails regarding finding information on the website. The look and feel of the website were also elevated, and now the spirit of Cate is encapsulated within every page.

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PAGES MIGRATED AND REBUILT IN TWO WEEKS

After the website launch, Digital Ink offered to extend support on an ongoing basis. Cate didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.

Now, Digital Ink and Cate have worked together for nearly three years. In their ongoing work, Digital Ink focuses on the longevity of the site by answering any question from the Cate’s IT team and correcting any issues that arise.

“I can’t reiterate enough this marriage of expertise and warmth,” said Patel. “It’s such a rare combination when you have people who are so good at what they’re doing and they treat you with care and love and respect in the process.”

“They pair this really heartfelt, careful, wonderful warmth with expert knowledge of what they’re doing.”
AVANI PATEL SHAH
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS, CATE SCHOOL

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