mobile mockups of PCADV website and statistics
A mother hugging her toddler close, both smiling

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Life-Saving Resources. User-Friendly Design.

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) is a statewide organization with an ambitious goal: to end domestic violence in Pennsylvania. They were the first in the nation to unite local programs, creating a network of organizations that provide safety and rehabilitation to victims of abuse.

Yet PCADV’s dated website made it hard for their partner programs to find the resources they needed. So hard, in fact, that most stopped trying. It had also become a maintenance headache for PCADV’s staff, leading to a logjam of obsolete content.

Services Provided

Ashley Eberly, Digital Director, leading a client through a card sort workshop

Looking back to move forward

We needed to build a site that could grow with PCADV, their initiatives, and their partners’ needs. To lay the groundwork, we combined anecdotes with analytics. We interviewed PCADV leaders and local domestic violence program employees, while auditing site traffic and SEO to determine what content could help users find the resources they were looking for.

Our team hosted a card-sort workshop with PCADV to identify site goals and critical webpages. Together, we found an effective user flow that performed well in user testing—a critical step to ensuring the right content would be easy to find in complex and stressful situations.

Two Teams, One Important Goal

There’s a certain weight that comes with building a site that requires a “Safe Escape” button (allowing users to quickly jump to an inconspicuous website in case their abuser enters the room). The gravity of these dangerous situations wasn’t lost on us. The new design system was a close collaboration between Infantree and PCADV’s communications team.

PCADV website previews

Tools to Help Victims Find Safety

PCADV informed us of two significant hurdles for victims of domestic violence:

  1. Recognizing abuse for what it is
  2. Finding the help they need to safely leave an abusive relationship

In response to these issues, we created an online quiz called “Is This Abuse?” and a local domestic violence program locator that pinpoints nearby resources.

Content Strategy Meets Trauma-informed Writing

We filtered through hundreds of existing documents to make up-to-date information more accessible. While we guided PCADV through content outlines and strategy, we leaned on their team’s expertise in trauma-informed writing. Both were critical to communicating effectively in sensitive situations.

PCADV's Director of Marketing surveying archetype cards for their brand voice
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Results Worth Celebrating

This isn’t the kind of website you want people to have to use, but it’s the website you want them to be able to find. In its first three months, PCADV’s new site logged:

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20% Increase in Traffic

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9% Decreased Bounce Rate

36% Conversion Rate for “Is This Abuse?” Quiz

1,430 Searches for Domestic Violence Safety Programs

I’ve worked with many outside agencies throughout my career, including on a number of website redesigns. Working on these projects with the Infantree far surpassed any experience I’ve had with an agency. It also helped cement that Infantree was absolutely the right partner.

Julie Bancroft

PCADV Chief Public Affairs Officer