In Safe CompanyA safe front door for survivors.

The organization was changing its name after decades of service. Its main site, its summer camp, its supervised visitation center and a placeholder for the new name each lived on a different domain.

Before designing anything, I archived every page of all four sites so nothing would be lost, then showed leadership four working design directions instead of static mockups. The one they approved became the reference for every component in the build.

• A searchable archive of every legacy page, photo and post
• Four named design directions, each a working prototype
• A one-time welcome that tells returning visitors about the new name

Someone in crisis should never have to decode a menu. The homepage asks one plain question, “What brings you here today?”, and offers four answers: I need help, I want to help someone, I want to volunteer, I want to give.

Choosing one turns the top of the page into a guided path, with each option labeled by how many clicks remain. Both 24-hour hotlines stay on screen the whole time.

• One question, four plain answers
• Every destination within three clicks
• Hotlines and a Spanish option visible before anything else

Every band on the homepage is its own component that the staff can edit without calling a developer: the story of the new name, the impact numbers, the programs, the upcoming events and the donate band.

Because each piece was built rather than borrowed, a theme update can't quietly break it.

• Impact numbers count up once, and the real figures are always in the page
• Programs, events and promotions update from the content the staff already manage
• A seasonal promotion can retire itself on a set date

Many visitors are reading on a phone or computer that someone else watches. One tap on Quick Exit, or the Esc key, replaces the site with a weather page instantly.

Most exit buttons stop there. This one also removes the visit from the tab's Back button, wipes anything the site stored, and keeps defending that if someone presses Back or Forward later.

• Always visible, on every page, at every screen size
• Back goes to whatever was open before the site
• Taught once with a gentle tip, and backed by an honest browse-safely guide

Every help page follows one calm pattern: a way to call first, plain language, a gentle note before heavy content, and a card that keeps the hotlines beside you as you read.

Long pages get an “On this page” guide that follows along, so nobody gets lost in a safety plan.

• A 24/7 call strip opens every help page
• Content notes before videos and difficult topics
• Videos load nothing from YouTube until someone presses play

Spanish speakers get the whole site. Every page, menu, form, event and podcast episode has a Spanish version, reached by a switch at the top of every page.

The switch never redirects anyone and never stores a language choice on the device, which matters on a phone someone else might check.

• Neutral Latin American Spanish, using the respectful form of address (usted)
• 448 crisis-related phrases flagged for a fluent human review
• No third-party translation service sees the content

Donors can give by card or PayPal. Whatever they choose, the campaign they picked, any tribute to a loved one, and whether they covered the fees travel with the gift into the donor database and the accounting system.

The page leads with what each gift does, like an evening of hotline coverage or a day of meals at the safe house.

• Gift amounts tied to real hours of help
• Monthly, tribute and cover-the-fee options
• No donor is thanked for a gift that later fails

Weekly support groups, fundraisers and community events all come from one calendar that people can add to their own phone.

For groups that meet at a safe house, the address never appears anywhere. After the 35th Annual Candlelight Vigil, the event page became a gallery of 58 photographs, designed like light in a dark room.

• List and month views, filters, add to calendar
• Private locations protected everywhere the event appears
• A cinematic vigil gallery within days of the event

The SISTERs Stories podcast now plays on the site itself, with its own player. Nothing is remembered about what someone listened to, and the phone's lock screen just says “Audio.”

Survivor videos sit behind a gentle note before you watch, and play in a window that disappears the moment Quick Exit is pressed.

• Three seasons, updated automatically from the show's feed
• A discreet player with a docked mini-player
• Content notes before every episode and video

Volunteering here means a background check and training, so the site shows the whole road first. Two quick questions point people to the right way to help, from a few hours to a standing weekly shift.

Partners are thanked exactly as the organization asked, and every request form reaches the right staff member without storing anything on the site.

• Eight ways to help, filtered by two questions
• Six real steps from application to first shift
• Forms that leave no trail

Every page was checked on desktop, tablet and phone before launch, every link was checked, and the launch itself followed a written plan with a two-minute way back that was never needed.

Since launch, the work has continued: new photography, the vigil gallery, and email set up so every form and receipt arrives.

• Zero broken links or redirect chains at launch
• Search descriptions written by hand for all 34 pages in the audit
• A tested rollback, never used