Local Club Toastmasters Website

Using WordPress and the WordPress4Toastmasters plugin, I improve communication through design on a local club Toastmasters website.

Tools Used in this Project:

CSS • Custom Code • Elementor Theme Builder • WordPress • Wordpress 4 Toastmasters

Web Design Project Features:

3rd Party Integration • Blog • Dynamic Templates

Introduction

Toastmasters is all about good communication, and good design is essentially good communication. Poor design interferes with your business or organization’s ability to communicate effectively, because the design gets in the way of the message. Such was the case with my local Toastmasters group’s website.

I joined Toastmasters several years ago to improve my communication skills.

I have found I gain far more clients based on my soft skills like communication and empathy, than my hard skills like programming and design.

While in Toastmasters, I learned about a plugin for WordPress called WordPress for Toastmasters, which brought the functionality Toastmasters groups need to WordPress.

Answering Questions without Contact

Goal: Provide enough information easily to whet the appetites of visitors

Most people are intimidated by the thought of contacting someone for more information, as they don't want to get on a list they cannot easily escape. So you have to make the decision to reach out feel "safe" to them. This is partly done by providing reassuring information that answers their questions.

First and foremost, I wanted to create content and design to communicate what Toastmasters is, what our local group is all about, what to expect when visiting, and what you'll get out of Toastmasters.

Most of this information was on the existing Toastmasters club website, but it was buried under a choppy, dated design

Solution: Creating easily-scannable, optimized informational pages

I gathered together the information we had on the current website, and created easily scannable, beautiful website pages to help the curious find out more on their own terms. I included questions I had when I was a new member, as well as concerns I had before I called for more information.

Sample optimized website page for a club Toastmasters website, showing how layout can help content be more easily digested

Integrating WordPress for Toastmasters

Goal: Retaining the functionality of the old website's agenda on the new

Technology rarely can be exchanged apples for apples. The old Toastmasters website platform, provided by Toastmasters International, was unattractive, limited, and looked 25 years old.

David Carr, a developer and Toastmasters member from another club developed a plugin for WordPress to allow Toastmasters groups to create WordPress websites that generate meeting agendas and other functions we need. My goal was to integrate this plugin while making the site user friendly, mobile friendly, and professional looking.

You can learn more about WordPress for Toastmasters here.

Solution: Developing a customized Toastmaster's club agenda using the block editor

I used WordPress for Toastmasters and WordPress' block editor to create a pleasing layout for our club's preferred agenda format. I'm excited as this plugin continues to be developed and improved.

Among the user friendly features I baked into our agenda, I added a link to download necessary forms and scripts for each Toastmasters role for the evening. I provided the basic script in the layout of the agenda, and made the agenda in the order of our unique meeting flow.

Most of these pages were styled with CSS, as Wordpress for Toastmasters doesn't work well with page builders at this time.

Club toastmasters agenda styled in Wordpress' block editor with custom css and created using Wordpress for toastmasters

You don't have to do everything in your business yourself.

Let me take your website design project off your already-too-full hands

Local Club Toastmasters Website

Using WordPress and the WordPress4Toastmasters plugin, I improve communication through design on a local club Toastmasters website.

Tools Used in this Project:

Web Design Project Features:

Introduction

Answering Questions without Contact

Goal: Provide enough information easily to whet the appetites of visitors

Solution: Creating easily-scannable, optimized informational pages

Integrating WordPress for Toastmasters

Goal: Retaining the functionality of the old website's agenda on the new

Solution: Developing a customized Toastmaster's club agenda using the block editor

You don't have to do everything in your business yourself.

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This WordPress website was designed with

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by Thoughts & Designs LLC