Transforming Accessibility, Searchability, and Content Management for a Modern Digital Experience
The East Baton Rouge Parish Library (EBRPL) serves as a cornerstone of the community, offering vast resources, educational tools, and services to its patrons. However, its website was struggling to keep pace with user expectations. Navigation was clunky, searching for resources was frustrating, and with a large team managing content updates, maintaining the site had become inefficient and overwhelming. The library needed a modern, intuitive, and secure platform that would simplify user navigation, enhance searchability, and streamline content management for staff.
LocalHop stepped in to develop a fully customized website that would not only meet these needs but also set a new standard for accessibility, performance, and usability for EBRPL. By leveraging cutting-edge web development strategies and a user-focused design approach, we delivered a platform that is responsive, easy to maintain, and built for long-term success. The results speak for themselves—the new site has achieved top-tier performance scores, including a 90+ accessibility rating on industry-standard tools like Google Lighthouse, ensuring compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. Additionally, robust security enhancements have led to a 100% security rating on vulnerability scans, while the improved user experience has significantly enhanced patron engagement.
Creating a User-Centric, Scalable Solution
EBRPL’s existing site was packed with valuable information, but it wasn’t easy to access. Patrons often struggled to find what they were looking for due to lack of user-friendly navigation, and staff had difficulty keeping the site updated efficiently. The library wanted a platform that would feel effortless to navigate while still housing the vast array of information and resources that made it so valuable to the community. This included essential library services such as online courses, homework help, and research databases for genealogy and academic studies. Additionally, the site needed to accommodate department news, class schedules, community events, and special programs—all while ensuring patrons could seamlessly access and engage with these offerings.
LocalHop took a strategic approach to design and development, ensuring that every element of the website was purpose-built to enhance usability. One of the most impactful solutions was the introduction of a mega menu, which dramatically reduced the number of clicks needed to access key information. Instead of digging through multiple pages, users could now find what they needed quickly and intuitively through a well-structured navigation system that categorized content clearly, streamlined access to essential resources like research databases and events, and improved overall accessibility.
Behind the scenes, the site was built with a structured approval workflow system that allowed different departments to manage their own content while ensuring that all updates went through the proper review channels before being published. This not only eliminated confusion and inefficiencies but also provided a safeguard against errors or outdated content going live.
To future-proof the platform, we developed the site using SculptR, our custom WordPress theme, ensuring that it was easy to update, scalable, and mobile-responsive. We also hosted the site on WP Engine, a secure and high-performance platform that provides continuous updates, backups, and security monitoring. This ensured that the library’s digital presence would remain stable and secure long after launch.
The impact of these improvements was immediate. The new website scored above 90 in performance, accessibility, and best practices—a benchmark that signifies excellent speed, user experience, and compliance with modern web standards. A score in this range ensures the site is highly responsive, inclusive for all users, and built with strong security and coding practices, setting a new standard for functionality and reliability. Library staff also found the new system far easier to manage through follow up support management, with intuitive tools that allowed them to update content without requiring technical expertise.
Overcoming Challenges with Custom Solutions
One of the biggest challenges in this project was organizing and displaying the library’s vast collection of online resources in a way that felt intuitive and engaging. The previous site often left users feeling lost due to complex navigation, deep content hierarchies, and a lack of clear pathways to key resources. Important information was buried under multiple layers of subpages, confusing menu structures, and inconsistent labeling, making it difficult for patrons to quickly locate services like homework help, research databases, or event schedules. This lack of clarity not only frustrated users but also hindered accessibility and engagement, underscoring the urgent need for a more user-friendly design.
Creating an Optimized Content Experience
To solve this, LocalHop developed a custom Collection Items Block, a module that allowed resources to be displayed visually, with images, descriptions, and a built-in search feature. This made it far easier for patrons to browse and locate what they needed quickly, without having to sift through excessive links or confusing menus. The Collection Items Block also provided flexibility for the library, allowing them to customize the styling and categories to fit their needs.
Another challenge was ensuring that staff members could confidently manage content updates. Many of them had struggled with the old system, which was complex and unintuitive. To address this, we implemented a visual builder that made editing and updating content as simple as drag-and-drop. Additionally, we provided comprehensive training, walking staff through the new tools and ensuring they felt empowered to manage the site independently.
Measurable Impact and Lasting Success
The launch of the new EBRPL website marked a significant milestone in the library’s digital transformation. With its modern design, streamlined navigation, and enhanced content management system, the site now provides an experience that is both user-friendly and highly functional. Performance and accessibility scores now rank in the 90s and above, ensuring that the platform meets the highest standards for speed, security, and usability.
Beyond the numbers, the real impact has emerged through the daily interactions between users and the site since its launch. Ongoing feedback confirms that patrons now find it easier to locate resources, navigate through services, and engage with library offerings—ultimately validating the effectiveness of the redesign. Patrons can now navigate with ease, searching for books, events, and resources without frustration. The mobile-responsive design ensures that whether they’re browsing from a phone, tablet, or desktop, the experience remains smooth and consistent.
For library staff, the approval workflow and content management improvements have eliminated bottlenecks and inefficiencies, making updates faster and more structured. What was once a complicated, time-consuming process has now become seamless and intuitive.
Conclusion: A Digital Platform Built for the Future
By partnering with LocalHop, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library now has a website that is not just visually appealing, but also highly functional, secure, and adaptable for the future. The site’s high performance scores, improved user experience, and seamless content management system all contribute to a platform that will serve the library and its patrons for years to come.
This project stands as a testament to LocalHop’s expertise in developing digital solutions that are both innovative and deeply aligned with our clients’ needs. The new EBRPL website has set a gold standard for public library websites, demonstrating the power of thoughtful design, cutting-edge technology, and user-first development strategies.
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