Friends of Clapham Common
Friends of Clapham Common had an existing WordPress site that wasn't doing the charity justice. The messaging was scattered, the content hard to navigate, and for a charity that exists to protect and celebrate one of South London's most loved green spaces, the website simply wasn't telling that story.
The brief was to rebuild from scratch on Squarespace. It needed a cleaner structure, clearer messaging, and a site that felt as welcoming and community-spirited as the common itself.
Client: The Friends of Clapham Common
Industry: Charity/Community
Location: London, Uk
Platform: Squarespace
Services: Web design, UX, Graphic design
The challenge
Messaging lacked focus, it wasn't immediately clear what the charity does or how to help.
With many different people contributing over the years, the site had become a bit disorganised and out of date
The site didn't reflect the warmth of the community behind it
There was no clear user journey to guide visitors and show ways to get involved, like donating, volunteering and events.
The approach and solution
I wanted the site to look modern and professional, but also engaging and inviting. I started with the site architecture, restructuring the pages and navigation around what visitors actually need to do: understand who the charity is, connect with the common and the community around it, and find a way to be part of it. The Squarespace build means the team can keep it up to date themselves.
Clearer site architecture
Pages are grouped into a simple structure and a cleaner menu, so visitors can find what they need in a click or two.
Stronger hierarchy
The most important information is prioritised, rather than giving every page and section equal weight.
Stronger messaging
The homepage leads with what the charity does and why it matters, with plenty of easy points of recognition tying the site to the common and how people experience it.
Clear calls to action
The main ways to help are visible throughout the site rather than buried in sub-pages.
Built for mobile
The site works as well on a phone as on desktop, which matters for a community audience on the go.
The outcome
Friends of Clapham Common is a great charity. Their projects have been a huge success in protecting the common, supported by a large community of volunteers, local businesses backing their initiatives and over 700 Friends. The new site gives all of that a home that matches it.
Visitors can now see every way to get involved, from litter picks and watering to donating, becoming a Friend or planting a memorial tree. An events section keeps the community up to date, and project outcomes and a sponsors listing show the difference the charity makes and who helps make it happen.
"Emily has been invaluable to Friends of Clapham Common. She built us a professional Squarespace website that finally gives our community a proper online home. We are delighted with everything she has produced and the feedback from our community has been overwhelmingly positive. Polished, on-brand, and delivered without any fuss. We continue to work with Emily, she has become our go-to for anything creative and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her."
Shirley Kermer
Chair, Friends of Clapham Common
READY TO START
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