New CCCBA Website

On October 23, 2019, the CCCBA launched its brand new website, logo and branding!

Did you know that the CCCBA’s last website contained well over 200 pages of content?

In today’s world where communication generally happens via quick e-mails, texts full of emojis, or tweets of 160 characters or less, 200+ pages of robust, single-spaced content is just too much. But, many different people visit the CCCBA website for different reasons. Members of our community who are looking for a lawyer visit our website to find a lawyer through our Lawyer Referral Service. Attorneys looking to attend a networking or educational event visit our site to view the calendar and register for events. So, our website does need to have a lot of different features. When we realized that our website needed to be updated, we knew that we were undertaking an enormous task!

The process of redesigning CCCBA’s website actually began in 2017. After getting approval from the CCCBA Board of Directors, a website committee was formed. The committee consisted of Ericka McKenna (leader), James Wu, Natasha Chee, Dorian Peters, David Erb, Oliver Greenwood, Laura Ramsey, Summer Selleck, and CCCBA staff Theresa Hurley, Barbara Arsedo, Emily Day and Carole Lucido. We want to thank each and every one of you!

Messaging was a prime focus because the website committee wanted to reinforce the values and mission of the CCCBA throughout the site. Other goals were to reduce the amount of text on the site, make information easier to find, and make it user friendly and modern with the latest tech.

At the kickoff meeting for the website, the committee came up with a unique way to get a handle on key messaging for the new site.

Do you remember Mad Libs, the silly fill-in-the-blank game? Consider this: If CCCBA were a [food/celebrity/brand of car/or animal] it would be [name] because of [descriptive words].

If CCCBA were a celebrity, it would be Tom Hanks, because
he’s relatable, consistent and a leader in his field.

If CCCBA were a car, it would be a minivan, because it brings people together, is reliable
and trustworthy.

Although the committee really wanted to say the CCCBA reminded them of a Tesla or a bald eagle, it ended up with more friendly nouns like Tom Hanks, a minivan, Mr. Rogers and a golden retriever.

The firm selected to build the website was Great Believer from Brooklyn, New York. We decided to partner with Great Believer because they had rebuilt websites for nonprofit associations incorporating design, function and technology. Their focus was in using analytics and interviewing key user groups in an effort to truly understand the audience and deliver the information it seeks.

The Process

Because of the daunting and lengthy task involved in overhauling a website of our size, two website subcommittees were formed. First, the User Experience subcommittee dealt with the site architecture and organization of the content. Members of the User Experience subcommittee were: Ericka McKenna, James Wu, David Erb, Dorian Peters, Steve Steinberg, Theresa Hurley, Emily Day, Barbara Arsedo and Carole Lucido. Great Believer reviewed all of the pages on the site and reorganized them based on early meetings (including the Mad Libs). The committee looked at the website structure and fine tuned Great Believer’s work, along with providing input on content strategy and copy writing.

The Design Phase came next. These subcommittee members looked at the colors, graphics, icons and page layouts. It also worked on copywriting to best elicit feedback and interaction with website users. Members of the Design subcommittee were: Ericka McKenna, James Wu, Natasha Chee, Oliver Greenwood, Laura Ramsey, Summer Selleck, Theresa Hurley, Emily Day, Barbara Arsedo and Carole Lucido.

In the process of redesigning CCCBA’s site, two rounds of user testing were employed, during the User Experience phase and the Design phase. See the list of members who helped with this important aspect of the website redesign. We truly appreciate your help!

The Logo

During the website redesign process, the CCCBA logo was considered. Did you know that the CCCBA’s old logo came about as a result of a contest, in which members were encouraged to submit ideas? That logo was designed some 20+ years ago. The committee decided that a “logo refresh” would help us blend the new website with a new image of the CCCBA. The image of Mt. Diablo would still be used, but in a fresh, inviting and versatile new way.

Challenges

A curveball came during the second round of user testing. The test users did not like the colors and the page layouts the committee initially chose. A second round of color schemes and page layouts was designed and even the committee was much happier with the final outcome.

Another challenge was in blending the functionality of the CCCBA membership database with the new site. Intellinx, the maker of our database program ITOD, was instrumental to the process. They worked along side the team at Great Believer to seamlessly transition from the CCCBA website to the secure site that maintains users contact information, communications preferences and MCLE records, and the now new security functionality that encrypts saved credit card numbers.

Going forward

Another benefit of the new website is that it can be maintained by CCCBA staff members Carole Lucido and Emily Day. If you have a suggestion to improve a page (or two or ten!), please let either Carole or Emily know about it. It is a living site and keeping it up to date is an important priority. We look forward to your feedback and we hope you find the new site useful!

User Testers