A Smarter WordPress Solution for Jessie May Charity
Project Overview
Jessie May supports families and children in the South West with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.
Jessie May approached us to rebuild their website from the ground up, with a clear objective: give the charity greater control, improve performance, and create a platform that truly reflected their impact.
Their previous website presented several challenges.
The team had no straightforward way to update or create pages themselves easily. Campaigns and landing pages were difficult to launch quickly. The site did not represent the warmth and professionalism of the charity, and search visibility was poor.
Crucially, the donation form was not converting effectively. It felt disconnected from the rest of the site and did not provide an experience that encouraged supporters to complete their donation.
Jessie May needed more than a visual refresh. They needed ownership, flexibility, stronger SEO foundations, and a donation experience that worked as hard as they do.
The Solution
We designed and developed a completely new WordPress website, built to give the Jessie May team full control over their content, campaigns, and fundraising activity.
At the core of the build was a bespoke block-based system within the Gutenberg editor. Rather than relying on rigid templates, we created custom blocks tailored specifically to the charity’s needs. This allows the team to build pages flexibly, launch campaigns quickly, and maintain brand consistency without developer intervention.
Key improvements included:
1. Custom Gutenberg Blocks
We developed a suite of reusable, branded blocks that give the team structured flexibility. Pages can now be built and edited with confidence, ensuring design quality remains high while empowering non-technical users.
2. Bespoke Donorfy Integration
We implemented a fully customised integration using Donorfy native web widget code. The default widget was carefully styled and re-engineered to feel like a seamless part of the website rather than an embedded external tool.
Further development provided the client with control over the look and feel of the donation form itself, ensuring campaigns can align visually while maintaining technical stability.
3. Improved SEO Foundations
The new build addressed structural and technical SEO issues, improving site architecture, page structure, performance, and responsiveness. The result is a platform built to rank and scale over time.
4. Events and Campaign Flexibility
The new system enables Jessie May to promote events effectively, create dedicated landing pages, and support fundraising initiatives without bottlenecks or external dependencies.
The Results
Jessie May now has a website that genuinely supports their mission.
The team has the power to create content, launch campaigns, and build landing pages independently. This flexibility allows them to respond quickly to fundraising opportunities and communicate their impact more effectively.
Improvements in responsiveness and performance have contributed to an increase in visitors engaging with the website and spending longer on key pages. The donation journey is more cohesive and aligned with the brand, helping build trust with supporters.
Most importantly, the charity is no longer constrained by its own website. It has become a platform that works for them, not against them.
Further development is already planned, including a dedicated Jessie May donation add-on designed to optimise and increase online contributions even further.
The result is a scalable, future-focused WordPress platform that empowers the charity and strengthens its digital presence.
What would you say to other charities looking for a web agency?
“David and his team has managed our website for a few years now – extremely reliable service – at a good price. They are quick to respond to all issues. Big or small. Highly recommend. “
Jessie May
