Modernizing School Website Experience
Conversion Focused Design
Transformed a K-12 school website into a strategic admissions tool by clarifying user journeys and improving storytelling. Result: enhanced enrollment clarity and elevated professional perception.
Transforming a Static Site Into an Enrollment Tool
NorthPoint Christian Academy's WordPress site functioned as a static information repository with no clear user journeys, weak storytelling, and an unsustainable maintenance structure. As the sole designer and developer on this freelance engagement, I led a full redesign — restructuring the information architecture, elevating the visual system, and re-platforming the site to Squarespace to support long-term usability for staff.
Private K-12 Education
Freelance UX Designer & Developer
UI/UX Design
UX Strategy
Information Architecture
Digital Transformation
Content Strategy
Platform Migration
Prospective & Current Families, School Staff
Prospective families had no guided admissions funnel; current families had no efficient resource path.
View Live Site
A Site That Informed But Didn't Convert
(No Clear Funnel)
Prospective families had no guided admissions funnel; current families had no efficient resource path.
(Information Overload)
Flat navigation with standalone pages and no content hierarchy increased cognitive load.
(Weak Storytelling)
Text-heavy, visually inconsistent pages failed to communicate the school's values, community, or student experience — critical gaps for an enrollment-driven organization.
(Maintenance Issues)
The WordPress setup required ongoing technical oversight staff couldn't manage independently.
Design a Decision-Support Experience for Prospective Families
(01)
Create differentiated pathways for prospective and current families
(02)
Transform the site into an active admissions and enrollment tool
(03)
Modernize visual design to improve trust and emotional resonance
(04)
Re-platform to Squarespace for long-term staff independence
End-to-End Ownership from Audit to Launch
(Stakeholder Research)
Conducted interviews with school leadership on enrollment goals, parent questions during admissions, and competitive positioning among local private schools.
(IA & Journey Mapping)
Mapped two primary journeys — Prospective Families (Discover → Learn → Evaluate → Act) and Current Families (Access → Confirm → Reference) — and restructured navigation around parent mental models.
(Visual Design System)
Built a consistent typographic hierarchy, image-forward layouts, and modular content blocks emphasizing warmth, trust, and professionalism.
(Development & Migration)
Rebuilt the full site in Squarespace, restructuring and migrating content from WordPress, eliminating legacy clutter in the process.
A Site That Now Actively Supports Enrollment
Increased clarity for prospective families during admissions conversations
Improved professional perception of the school's brand
Reduced confusion around logistics and recurring family resources
Greater internal confidence directing families to the website
Easier content management for non-technical administrative staff
The redesigned website now reflects the quality NorthPoint offers in person — bringing its story to life digitally.
What I Learned
Working as the sole designer and developer on a freelance engagement builds a different kind of discipline. Without a team to catch gaps, every decision has to be more intentional — from how you conduct stakeholder interviews to how you write content. The most valuable shift on this project was reframing the problem: moving from 'how do we organize this information' to 'how do we help parents trust this school.' That single insight drove every IA and content decision downstream. It also reinforced that design strategy and execution are most powerful when held by the same person — at least at this scale.
