Edwardsville Children’s Museum in Edwardsville, Ill. is an incredible space for kids to play and learn. In addition to hands-on, immersive exhibits, ECM offers programs for newborns through 12 years of age as well as birthday party packages and summer camp activities.
The current ECM website was antiquated and held together with multiple plug-ins that made it a virtual house of cards. Because of ECM’s unreliable site, the Museum was unable to accept online donations – a key part of its fundraising efforts – and missed birthday party registrations. Not to mention, the website didn’t do justice to the Museum’s actual physical space or highlight how amazing it is.
Zeal wanted to accurately represent the organization through its website by making it joyful, kid-focused, and thoughtful. Our design team utilized a bright color scheme and skewed color shapes from the ECM logo to set the site’s foundation. We sprinkled in playful, child-like graphics, shaped photo windows with movement, and authentic photos to showcase all the adventures available.
We also developed a series of videos for the website and social media to show parents and grandparents what a hidden gem ECM is. To capture the ECM team’s passion for joyful learning came through, we interviewed the ECM executive director, parents, educators, and kids to get their different perspectives on the Museum.
The new ECM website is not just a peek at everything the Museum has to offer, it’s an essential – and functional! – tool that allows staff to sell admission tickets, book parties, and secure donations all online. Search engine optimization helps ensure the ECM site comes up on searches for family activities in the St. Louis and southern Illinois regions.
Moving forward, the Zeal and ECM teams are working together on future marketing strategies to continue driving more traffic to the site.