ADHDA is one of eight organizations in the country named a Great American Main Street Award finalist. We rebuilt their website from the ground up around a strategy that showcases the organization's impact, streamlines the experience for every visitor, and gives the team a platform they manage entirely in house.
+40% Increase in Event Registrations
+10% Development Costs
Services
Website Redesign, Strategy, Development
Category
Non Profit
Client
Astoria Downtown Historic District Association
Timeframe
24 Weeks
The Challenge
For nearly forty years, the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association has been the driving force behind downtown Astoria. They manage 38 blocks. They run a weekly market with 150+ vendors generating over a million dollars a year in community sales. They coordinate a monthly artwalk across 30+ galleries. They secure hundreds of thousands in historic preservation grants. They were named one of eight Great American Main Street Award finalists in the country.
Users couldn't find what they needed
The team regularly heard from visitors who couldn't find key pages to process payments, locate events, or look up meeting information. Navigation was confusing, core actions were buried, and key functionality like becoming a member or making a donation lacked clear calls to action. People came to the site with a purpose and left without accomplishing it.
Maintenance over mission
The WordPress site was costly to maintain and painfully slow to update. Simple content changes required a developer. Managing events was a disconnected, multi-step process. Updating the monthly artwalk took hours of manual work. Everyone on the team who touched the website did so with frustration, from the marketing manager advocating for better event promotion, to the admin responsible for content updates, to the director overseeing it all.
General public was unsure of the role of the ADHDA in the community
The old site didn't showcase the organization, what it does, or who it serves. There was no strategy for educating visitors about ADHDA's role, no effort to present the vibrancy and community of downtown, and no clear path from understanding the mission to supporting it. After forty years, some people in town still don't understand what ADHDA does or how it differs from the chamber.
Before
Site wasn’t ranking
Before
After
design/tool
Updated design direction
What We Built
We solved the usability problems the team was hearing about every week. Then we went further, building a site strategy around showcasing ADHDA's impact and presenting downtown Astoria as the vibrant, creative district it actually is. The result is a site the team manages at a fraction of the cost, and instead of dreading updates, they enjoy it.
An intuitive site shaped by real user feedback
We listened to the frustrations users reported and redesigned the entire experience around clarity. We ran three rounds of user testing to verify our solutions worked. Navigation was simplified, calls to action were added where they were missing, and every key task got a clear path. Users confirmed they can find the events they're looking for, make a payment, and look up a business without second-guessing where to go. They enjoy using the site, and the complaints stopped.
A strategy built around impact and downtown vibrancy
The site now leads with the organization's story and impact. The homepage opens with the numbers and the work. Custom photography captures downtown Astoria's storefronts, events, and community, giving the site a visual identity that feels like the district itself. A blog built for impact storytelling highlights building restorations, preservation wins, and the programs that directly shape life downtown. The branding and messaging present downtown Astoria the way it deserves: vibrant, creative, and worth supporting. Nobody leaves wondering what this organization does.
A platform the team owns, enjoys using, and runs at a fraction of the cost
Events update seamlessly from one place. The business directory and monthly artwalk updates edit in minutes instead of hours. Payments sync cleanly. Mailing lists connect without manual work. The marketing manager, the admin, and the director all reported improvements in efficiency and even joy using the new platform. The team keeps the entire site current without a developer and without the frustration that defined the old process.
Impact
ADHDA now has a website that reflects the scale of their impact and showcases the vibrancy of downtown Astoria's historic district. Visitors see the work, feel the community, and understand how they can be a part of it. The team can publish events, share news, and update the business directory on their own, keeping the site fresh without technical help. Supporters can give in a few taps from any device. The site is built to grow with ADHDA's programs, ready to scale as downtown Astoria does.
100%
Self Managed
Google Analytics
50%
Reduced Dev Spend
Client
2x
Faster Operations
Client
Client Feedback
Quinn Hasse
Executive Director
Astoria Downtown Historic District Association
Sample test
A Personal Note
Working with the ADHDA team was one of the most rewarding projects I've taken on. Getting to know the people behind this organization and seeing firsthand how much they pour into downtown Astoria made me want to build something worthy of that work. I'm proud of what we created together, and I'm grateful to Quinn, Dulce, and Janet for trusting me with it. If you've ever walked Commercial Street, browsed the Sunday Market, or ducked into a gallery on artwalk night, you've felt what this organization makes possible. They could use your support. Visit astoriadowntown.com to learn more, attend an event, or make a donation.
Join Us Now
Your organization deserves a website that works as hard as your team does
If your downtown, your nonprofit, or your community organization has outgrown its website, let's figure out what the right solution looks like together.
