Chicago Park District »

 

The Chicago Park District is charged with managing the largest park district in the United States, which includes over 220 facilities with 7,300 acres of parkland. The Park District also hosts thousands of special events, as well as sports and recreation programs, throughout the year.

Problem

CPD’s old website design was state-of-the art when it initially launched in 2001, but, since then, has become dated and unattractive by current design standards. In addition, the homepage content was database driven and limited highlights to news releases, events and programs with no space for free-form content. CPD had content that wasn’t getting to their users and even had a surplus of award-winning photography that they wanted to feature but did not have the means with their current design. In short, their ability to communicate on their site was becoming increasingly difficult as their patrons’ needs for different types of information evolved.

Solutions

  • Using information collected from the site’s metrics and the CPD staff, and park patrons, we were able to identify the topics that site visitors were most interested in and highlight those on the new homepage. Content areas include featured destinations, featured facilities, upcoming events, park updates, marketing efforts specific to the season and even a callout for visitors who’d like to “Work @ CPD.”
  • The new homepage allows CPD to feature its award-winning photography along with more of their unique imagery like their seal and the facility icons. Using an XML based flash tool called SlideShowPro, they are able to easily format season-specific flash movies that site visitors can click through at their preferred pace. Individual images can optionally include a title and/or a link to a page inside or outside the site.
  • Content areas on the homepage allow CPD to highlight items that were otherwise not available for display on the homepage. Setting expiration dates for items allows them to be removed automatically without involvement from staff members.
  • RSS feeds are generated from the homepage content areas. Site visitors can use their RSS reader to keep up-to-date with additions and updates to the homepage.
  • The unique scrolling pod design allows for either displaying a few items or large amounts of content given their needs at that time.
  • Ad space in the center of the page provides a means for highlighting each season’s most important events or marketing efforts.

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