Critical User Experience

Women’s Advocates provides shelter and services to an average of 50 women and children every day. They also help dozens of crisis line callers daily and educate the public about domestic abuse prevention. Their site's user interface needed to be exceptionally clear and easy to navigate for individuals in crisis. Victims of abuse seeking help may have small windows of time on the site, so emergency contact information is very easy to find. We included an emergency exit button to help users quickly leave the site if their abuser entered the room.

Saint Paul Media guided Women’s Advocates through the challenging task of designing a website that 1) helped people in crisis, 2) inspired people to get engaged, and 3) informed the community of the serious issue of domestic violence. Their team carefully laid out an information gathering and sorting process that put the WHY in front of every part of our new website. They took the time to meet with those we serve, staff at all levels, and board governance–and ensured our website build was a great blend of inclusive AND proactive. What could have been a difficult and lengthy process turned into a project that was completed as scheduled without overwhelming staff.

Thomas Brinker, Development Coordinator | Women's Advocates

Our website doesn’t just look pretty. It contains background information (which Saint Paul Media trained our staff on populating) that has allowed our website to become the first google result when you search for “Women’s Shelter”. More people can find a safe place to stay and more people can connect with us when they want to make a difference. Saint Paul Media is responsible for increasing women’s safety in the East Metro, and we are forever grateful!

Thomas Brinker, Development Coordinator | Women's Advocates