Biodiversity BC

Overview
Biodiversity BC is a partnership of conservation and government organizations, formed in 2005 to develop a biodiversity action plan for British Columbia. This partnership will be based on the best scientific information available, and will build on existing initiatives, identify priorities for action, and guide policy and decision-making regarding biodiversity in the province. In July 2007, Biodiversity BC had developed new branding and wanted a new design that would integrate it, creating a fresh new look for the partnership.

Approach to Development
Working with the company that created Biodiversity BC's new branding, we designed a new website that had an accent on earth tones, in keeping with the ethos of the partnership. With a wealth of information to display, the site was designed with a spacious framework that was useful for displaying an abundance of content.

The site's main function is to inform the public and to provide resources and research papers - we wanted to do this in a way that was attractive and colourful, but that didn't distract from the important information that was posted.

Role in Development
Biodiversity BC had let us know that on top of a new design, they also wanted a Content Management System (CMS) that would empower them to update the website themselves. We conducted thorough reviews of various CMS systems and selected ElementCMS as the Content Management System that would best suit the needs of the client. After the CMS was chosen, we gave Biodiverty BC staff a comprehensive CMS training session and followed that up with ongoing technical support. The combination of a powerful CMS and detailed training permitted their staff to update the website themselves in a quick and efficient manner, and in a way that maintains the look of the site while needing little technical expertise.

Project Plan
Biodiversity BC needed a half-dozen different templates in order to cover all types of pages that they would be using. Using ElementCMS, we created templates that would allow the client to easily update any and all pages themselves.

We devised a well-organized sitemap that would allow site visitors to find the information they sought in the easiest manner possible, and with the fewest number of button clicks. With the knowledge that many visitors would be coming to look for a specific piece(s) of information, we knew it was important to allow this to be as simple as possible.

Project Outcome
We have received an exceptionally good response from both the client and from site visitors, both on the design of the site and its organizational structure. Difficulty in finding information and reports has been a common issue for people dealing with governmental websites, and visitors have been very happy to be able to find what they were looking for easily on this site.

We continue to work with Biodiversity BC on an ongoing basis, both for content updates and CMS assistance, when needed.