The Plaza District Council was running a dated WordPress site that was hard to manage. We rebuilt it into a modern, professional home with events, donations, and its newsletter connected in one place, so a small team could run every part of it themselves and get far more done with less.
80% Reduced Dev Spend
50% Reported Increase in Efficiency
Services
Website Development, Design & Operations
Category
Non Profit Downtown Organization
Client
Kansas City Plaza District Council
Timeframe
24 Weeks
The Challenge
Kansas City's Plaza District is one of the city's defining places. It's the second largest economic driver in Kansas City. It draws 15 million visitors a year. It's home to 1,506 businesses and more than 32,000 jobs. In 2023, a group of Kansas City's most established civic and business leaders came together to form the Plaza District Council and steward the district's future. The ambition was in place from day one, but their digital infrastructure was holding them back.
The council felt the existing site felt dated, not reflecting the professionalism they are going for
The council was representing one of Kansas City's most significant districts on a site that didn't look the part. The design was out of date, and it read as a smaller, less current operation than PDC actually is. For an organization introducing itself to residents, businesses, and donors, a site that felt behind the times worked against the impression the council needed to make.
The organization expressed frustation of existing website infrastructure
The council needed its website to actually run things, and the setup it had couldn't. The event and donation features were basic, and none of the pieces worked together. Managing anything on the old WordPress site was clunky, and keeping it updated was getting more expensive over time. There was no way to run events, giving, member communications, and the blog from one connected place. For a small staff, every task took more effort, and more money, than it should have.
A brochure visitors couldn't act on
The old site was static. People could read about the council and the district, but they couldn't do much else. There was no simple way to register for an event, make a donation, or sign up to stay in the loop. Visitors arrived interested and left without a way to act on it, which is a lot to lose for an organization built on community participation.
Before
Site wasn’t ranking
Before
After
design/tool
Updated design direction
What We Built
We rebuilt the council's site from the ground up, with a focus on how it looks and how it works. The result is a modern, professional site with the council's key tools connected in one place, and a team that runs the whole thing without outside help. What used to be a static page is now a site that works as hard as the organization behind it.
A modern responsive design that reflects the professionalism of the KC Plaza District Council
We gave the council a site that matches the significance of what it represents. The design is clean, current, and built to feel professional on any device, from a laptop in an office to a phone on the Plaza. Visitors now land on something that looks like a serious, established organization, and it makes that impression on everyone who finds it.
A refreshed digital infrasturcture to optimize their digital day to day work
This was the core of the project. We connected the council's essential tools so they run as a single system instead of scattered parts. Events, donations, the newsletter, and the blog all live and update in one place. Then we walked Amber through creating events and publishing posts herself, so the team manages the day to day without waiting on a developer. The setup that used to slow a small staff down now lets them do more with less.
A site built for participation
Where the old site could only be read, the new one invites people in. Residents and visitors register for events, give through a connected donation page, and sign up for the newsletter in a couple of taps. The site also points people toward the council's other digital tools, like the HelloKC app for exploring the Plaza. Every visit can now end in an action, turning interest into involvement.
Impact
The Plaza District Council now has a website that works the way a modern organization needs it to. It looks professional, its tools run as one connected system, and the team keeps everything current on its own. People who discover the council can register, give, and stay involved without friction. The infrastructure does the heavy lifting, so the team can spend its energy on the district instead of the website.
40%
Increased Impressions
Google Analytics
50%
Reduced Dev Spend
Client
2x
Faster Operations
Client
Client Feedback
Kate Marshall
President & Founder
Kansas City Plaza District Council
As a nonprofit focused on advancing Kansas City’s historic Plaza District, we needed a digital presence that worked for us. Our WordPress site was difficult to manage and became increasingly expensive to keep updated. Jacob at Lighthouse Digital turned that around. He built us a modern, seamless platform that allows us to handle our events, blog posts, donations, and member management without a hitch. It hasn’t just improved the visitor experience; it’s fundamentally simplified how we operate behind the scenes. Between the hands-on training and Jacob’s ongoing support, our team feels confident running the site. We couldn’t be happier with our experience with Lighthouse Digital.
A Personal Note
This was my first downtown project, and it turned into exactly the kind of work I want to keep doing. The part I love most is what this called for, connecting modern tools so an organization runs better, and I got to hear straight from the team how much easier it made their days. It also pulled me toward a cause I care about, the people who pour themselves into the places a community gathers. We did the whole thing remotely, the collaboration was easy the entire way through, and we brought it in on a good timeline. Thank you to Kate, Amber, and Nick for trusting me us it.
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.
