Friends of Bassett: Website + Content Redesign

Overview

The Friends of Bassett — the fundraising arm of Bassett Healthcare Network — supports Bassett's programs, technology, and helps improve patient care through donor contributions.

For such an important part of the network, their website was woefully outdated. It was difficult to navigate, slow to load (a big issue in their rural setting), and not very inspiring. Donors couldn’t easily find what they needed, event details were buried, and the donation form itself made giving harder than it should have been. On top of that, the site didn’t meet accessibility standards and wasn’t showing up in search. If someone wanted to support the hospital, the site wasn’t helping them get there.

Our goal was to redesign the site to better tell the Friends of Bassett story, highlight the impact donors have on the health system, and make online giving easier and more intuitive.

My Role:
Content Strategist / Copywriter + Web Design Support

The first step of this project was creating an updated sitemap that aligned the Friends' teams goals with their audience's goals.

The Problem

The previous Friends of Bassett website presented several barriers for donors:

Outdated design & navigation made it difficult for visitors to find giving opportunities or event information.
Unclear storytelling failed to connect donors emotionally with the impact of their support.
Cumbersome donation process led to drop-offs before completion.
Lack of SEO and accessibility optimization limited visibility and usability.

The challenge was clear: transform the site into a modern, story-driven platform that would engage donors, simplify giving, and reflect the importance of Friends of Bassett’s mission.

My Approach

Information Architecture: Simplified site navigation so donors could quickly find giving opportunities, events, and see how their donations help real people in their community.
Content Audit & Rewrite: Refreshed all web copy for clarity, donor impact, and alignment with Bassett Healthcare Network’s overall brand.
Storytelling Integration: Wove donor and patient stories throughout the site to reinforce the “why” behind giving.
SEO & Accessibility: Applied best practices to improve discoverability and ensure ADA-compliance for accessibility.

Results

The redesigned Friends of Bassett site has delivered measurable improvements across traffic, engagement, and conversion signals:

Traffic Growth: Overall sessions increased +154%, driven by stronger SEO performance and improved UX.
Organic Search Surge: Now the #1 acquisition channel, climbing to 47.9% of all traffic (2,010 sessions), signaling vastly improved discoverability.
User Engagement: Engagement time rose from 28s → 49s (+75%), with pageviews per user up +38%, showing that visitors are exploring deeper and finding what they need.
Engagement Rate: Jumped from 31% → 53%, more than a 20-point leap that indicates higher-quality visits.
Key Events: Recorded user interactions skyrocketed from 1 → 92, demonstrating both improved GA4 tracking and stronger user action.
Channel Growth: Direct traffic nearly doubled (+93%) and Organic Social nearly tripled (+186%), reflecting both loyalty and broader reach.

Takeaways

The redesign has been a clear success — driving higher visibility, more engaged visitors, and better-tracked user actions. The site isn’t just attracting more people; it’s keeping them engaged and moving them toward meaningful outcomes, validating the new content and structure as a strategic win.