FWCD Launches New Website

Nearly a year in the making – Monday, October 24, 2022, was mission launch. FWCD’s new website debuted as a proud representation of Fort Worth Country Day, an exceptional “school of significance.” The site (fwcd.org) builds upon the School’s admission viewbook and theme, “From Here, Anywhere ….” The brand-new site features a Community Hub for our current families and alumni, continued easy access to MyFWCD, and a media wall that incorporates FWCD’s social media and other content channels. Designed by United Kingdom-based Interactive Schools (IS), FWCD’s site is the first site in Texas to be created by the organization. A dynamic “living viewbook,” the new website gives families an authentic glimpse into the School experience. Websites are constantly evolving, but the parents’ desires to see their children’s learning experiences at school will not change.

With the goal of creating a “wow experience” to inform the community and draw in prospective families, FWCD’s website serves as the School’s most important marketing tool. It is more than a “pretty face”; it is a hub for FWCD marketing, communications, admission, advancement, content, and strategy for current and prospective families. First impressions are made at fwcd.org, and these first impressions are important. According to website management company SWEOR, it takes approximately .05 seconds for site visitors to decide whether they like your website and whether they will stay or leave. And those first impressions are design related 94% of the time.

The new fwcd.org homepage.

Website Goals

A lot has changed in the realm of websites, digital media and marketing since the School’s last redesign more than 10 years ago. The redesign process provides an opportunity to rethink the School’s existing sitemap and reevaluate and purge content to simplify the user experience. Beyond a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate website, site visitors are looking for authenticity, personalization, dynamic visuals, immersive online experiences, integration (multi-channel content coordination), and a mobile-first mentality. Today, according to Statcounter, a web traffic analysis website, 60 percent of web traffic comes from mobile devices versus desktop or laptop computers, while 92 percent of internet users access the internet from their mobile devices.

From the beginning of the redesign process, the goal was to create a magical experience for prospective families, current FWCD families, faculty/staff, alumni and friends. Significant design and content outcomes included:

• Eliciting pride from the FWCD community and enhancing their experience

• Telling the Fort Worth Country Day story

• Enabling prospective families to make personal connections with FWCD’s admission team to foster admission inquiries

• Supporting the School’s brand reputation

• Educating about how an FWCD Fund donation helps to transform the lives of young people in their educational journey

• Increasing job applications from highly qualified candidates

Digital Media and Content Manager Reggie Johnson and Communications and Constituent Relations Manager Shannon Allen began the redesign process by researching potential partners who could elevate the FWCD website experience and meet those goals. After months of research and meetings, three vendors were identified, with one rising to the top of the list. Johnson and Allen presented their top choice to Director of Admission Caroline Corpening Lamsens ’99 and Director of Advancement Sandra Tuomey to obtain the green light needed to seek ultimate approval and budget finalization from Head of School Eric Lombardi, Chief Financial and Operations Officer Tom Mitchell and Director of Technology Steve

“The communications team did a great job doing what we aim to do in all of our work at FWCD: taking something good and making it better,” Lombardi said. “They even met our 2018 strategic goal head on: They prioritized innovation and excellence.”

United Kingdom-based Interactive Schools is committed to creating the best websites for the world’s leading schools. Their goal is to inspire schools to tell their story and partner with them: “We fill the intersection between art and science. We call this ‘Wonder,” is a quote pulled from the IS website. Of all providers, IS was most in line with the future of technology and digital communications. They test and benchmark their sites against Google’s Pagespeed insights before launching, are current on all legal policies, and prioritize accessibility, adhering to the latest accessibility and privacy guidelines. The new site achieves a score of 98 for accessibility.

FWCD’s Redesign Partner

The team at Interactive Schools promotes a content strategy in which the School puts its content where the target audiences are and then uses the website as a hub for all of that content. That content is pulled from existing platforms, such as FWCD’s various social media channels; Vidigami, FWCD’s photo management system; Vimeo, the School’s video-sharing system; and the website’s news channel. The content is then curated and categorized in a customizable manner that allows for integration and personalization.

“I was impressed with Interactive Schools’ content distribution plan and how it aligns with the future of web content as I see it,” Johnson said. “There are so many amazing learning experiences being captured on our campus every day which need to be more broadly distributed. These stories provide an authentic and immediate look into our school and what we’re all about. Our new website’s media wall and social media integration highlight these learning experiences, gathered in one place for everybody to enjoy and share.”

The process to create the redesigned look kicked off in fall 2021 with meetings with the IS team as they immersed themselves in understanding the School. With 10 years of institutional knowledge, Allen had the 3A’s in mind as meetings moved forward, advocating for the Division Heads (academics) and the Fine Arts and Athletic Directors. With admission and advancement being front and center on the redesigned site, Lamsens and Tuomey were involved in initial stakeholder meetings, adding their institutional knowledge from the parent and alumni perspectives. Lombardi was instrumental in giving the IS team the FWCD story in his meetings. The School’s graphics standards guide, logo vector art, photography, and promotional pieces added value to the get-to-know-you process.

“Our plan had always been to build off the admission viewbook that had gone through a redesign in Summer 2020,” Allen said. That publication showcases our stellar campus and the many opportunities the School provides to students. It was important to us that the website carry on our inspiring theme ‘From Here, Anywhere ….’”

Our hope for the redesigned site is that it better serves the needs of our current community while creating an inviting experience and simplified workflow for our prospective families.

~ Caroline Corpening Lamsens ’99

Design and Content

In January 2022, the IS design team presented three options, with Allen and Johnson working back and forth via Zoom meetings to hone in on the final design and approve it so it could be built out. Their design connected the website with the admission viewbook and provided the most impressive and immersive experience.

The site options incorporated existing photography for placement purposes. Later in August 2022, the School employed freelance photographer Ralph Lauer to spend a day on campus to capture new images with current students, faculty and staff. “Ralph’s images are striking and truly capture the essence of FWCD and its offerings,” Allen said. “The daylong shoot had Ralph shooting all aspects of FWCD’s 3A’s, and the resulting images populated our final website. It was so nice to have fresh, never-before-seen photography to surprise our community with when we finally revealed the new site.”

With design direction solidified, a new IS team led the content strategy portion of the redesign. Giving current and prospective families an authentic look at the school’s day to day activities was the priority. FWCD’s mission, philosophy, core values, inclusivity statement, and commitment to the 3A’s remained the moral compass guiding the copywriting and editing. It was essential to show how students learn and teachers teach at FWCD and how the School transforms students into confident and well-rounded individuals, empowered to succeed, lead and serve in college, the workplace, and the global community. For families, it was necessary to show commitment to the local community, inclusion, equity, diversity and FWCD’s close-knit community feel.

“Our hope for the redesigned site is that it better serves the needs of our current community while creating an inviting experience and simplified workflow for our prospective families,” noted Lamsens.

Exciting New Aspects

Exciting aspects of the site include a Community section with a Community Hub; an informative media wall; and parent, alumni and faculty profiles.

The Community Hub (fwcd.org/hub) is a special place for current members of the FWCD community to find items of interest they need without logging into the MyFWCD portal, which remains the same. Those at-your-fingertips items include lunch menus, master calendar, School news, academic support, health and wellness, SOAR Aftercare and Enrichment, Moncrief Library resources and more.

The Community Hub (fwcd.org/hub)

The media wall (fwcd.org/media) pulls all FWCD news together in one place: FWCD’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter social media channels; news stories; Vimeo; and more. As well as increasing engagement and reach on social channels, the media wall inspires fresh content and helps to keep visitors to the site engaged longer.

The media wall (fwcd.org/media)

“Our new hashtagging strategy allows us to categorize content so it can be used in contextually relevant ways on our website and elsewhere. For example, if look at the Ballet page. You’ll see social media posts and digital media from an array of sources all related to ballet at the bottom of the page in the Related Stories section,” Johnson said. “The effect of this content management plan will be staggering as time goes by and categories begin to burst at the seams with years of amazing, relevant content. Just think about the ability of a user to research what ballet at FWCD is like in a couple years with the power of content categorization via hashtagging over time.”

Profiles are the pieces of the puzzle that further tell the FWCD story in a person’s own words. Currently, four profiles are highlighted: Lower School French Teacher Névine Watkins, Upper School Science Teacher Christy Alvear, FWCD parents Emily and Reid Shackelford ’93, and Upper School Photography Teacher Sil Azevedo. Their stories touch on the “why” behind their choice to work or send their students to FWCD. More profiles will be added over time.

Profiles are the pieces of the puzzle that further tell the FWCD story in a person’s own words.

Sophisticated images, a dynamic, forward-thinking design and compelling copy draw in the visitor. Interactive Schools created a masterful custom site that looks like no other. This redesign further builds upon the School’s “From Here, Anywhere …” brand and moves FWCD’s digital presence another step forward.