Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
caring for the land that cares for us
introduction
Partnering through Shared Core Values
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MidPen) is a regional greenbelt system in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is comprised of over 60,000 acres of land in 26 open space preserves protected for public enjoyment, making a preserve system of diverse and unparalleled beauty in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.
rootid was hired to develop their new website in Drupal, create a responsive design and build-out robust event registration for their community happenings.
Work Completed:
content strategy
user experience
website interface design
website development
custom ArcGIS integration
events management
website analytics & incremental improvement data-driven website optimization
links:
Website content Strategy
Developing Website User Profiles & Planning Content
rootid’s content strategy team developed user profiles. Our team carried out community stakeholder surveys, one-on-one interviews and site analytics to help validate our target audience needs and online habits of MidPen’s target audiences.
From this data, our team started to develop a strategy for what types of content resonated most with the website users, the different types of content that should be elevated across the website and what the key calls to action would be in different sections of the website.

User experience
User-Centered Navigation Pathways & Navigation
From the data collected during the discovery process, our team started to develop the main website navigation and determined the most important navigation pathways on the website for each user group.
Our team focused particularly on the habits of mobile users, since those were a majority of users on the website.
We are very happy with our decision to work with rootid on our custom Drupal website project. The team was knowledgeable, incredibly easy to work with and responsive to our needs. We look forward to a long, happy partnership!
Cydney Beiber
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
interface design
Elevating & Modernizing an Existing Brand
As a historic regional organization, MidPen had a long-established visual brand. rootid was tasked to utilize the existing visual guidelines to elevate the website design and bring in a modern touch.
rootid took an approach of creating easily replicable blocks (i.e. component-based) to the design process. This allowed us to develop a set of webpage pieces that could be placed anywhere across the site by website editors.
This gave editors a lot of flexibility to create dynamic and engaging webpages without code, while maintaining a visual appeal.

website development
Drupal with Easy Editing & Custom Integrations
Our development team created an editing experience that balanced flexibility for website managers to put content anywhere on the page, while also integrating complex systems like ArcGIS to create interactive trail maps, HubSpot to seamlessly integrate online marketing forms and EventBrite to manage online event management.
The result is a site that can elevate visual storytelling and pull in large data sets from geographic mapping systems that allow users to explore preserve trail systems and more.

custom arcgis integration
Using Geographic Data to Build Interactive Maps
As a land preservation organization, MidPen has deep internal knowledge around the use of geographic data using ArcGIS.
In order to improve the preserve visitor’s experience, rootid developed a custom integration with the MidPen ArcGIS database to provide interactive maps. These maps help visitors plan their trips and ensure that they honor the rules that help preserve the natural beauty of these green spaces.

events management
EventBrite Integration to Manage Events
MidPen holds hundreds of events each year in its preserves. Given that the events are held in locations without addresses and by a large team of volunteer docents, the logistics can get quite complex.
rootid worked with the MidPen event team to develop a custom integration with EventBrite that manages the RSVP process. The custom integration included an automated system to help deliver the attendee lists to the correct volunteer docent before the event began.

website analytics & incremental improvement
Using Data to Improve Website Performance
rootid and MidPen have partnered for more than 10 years and through the visual refresh of their website. The long-term success of this partnership has been the underlying commitment to data-driven incremental improvement.
rootid helped MidPen develop a website measurement plan and analytics reporting process that focused our efforts on making the website easier to navigate, visually modern, mobile friendly and seamless to update. By reviewing the site analytics on a monthly basis, MidPen has been able to make targeted investments and improvements that help drive the site conversions that are meaningful to their work.