References & Inspiration
Sites we admire, research insights, and the qualities we're designing toward
Design references
These sites were identified during discovery as examples of what good looks like in this space, and the qualities we responded to in them directly informed our design principles. Note: these are snapshots of what we responded to at the time — sites get redesigned, so what you see today may differ from what we originally referenced.
| Site | What stood out (at time of review) |
|---|---|
| Feeding Tampa Bay | Comprehensive footer navigation, task-oriented page structure |
| Charity: Water | Action-oriented design, donation-first with clear calls to action |
| MOW Tampa | Straightforward donation flow, simple three-path structure (Donate, Volunteer, Get Meals) |
| Second Harvest SW | Real, authentic photography featuring named individuals |
| Food & Friends | Clear, focused service explanation |
What analytics suggest
From our discovery review of the current site's analytics:
- Most visitors arrive on the homepage or a donation-related page
- Visitors follow short, goal-oriented paths, then leave
- Traffic leans on direct visits, organic search, and email
- Together that suggests high-intent visits from people who already know the organization, with the site functioning as a utility: orient, confirm trust, act
These patterns argue for clear pages and strong primary actions. They describe how today's visitors behave, not a ceiling on content — where deeper content earns its place (the Ways to Give reasoning is a good example), it's welcome.