WebCitz started working with this client in 2018
- Client: Oshkosh Area Humane Society
- Platform: Joomla, WordPress
- Industry: Non Profit / Religious, Veterinary / Animal Care
- Services: Maintenance / Support, Web Development, Web Hosting
The Challenge
As one of the region’s busiest animal welfare organizations, OAHS faces constant pressure to keep information current. Their digital challenges included:
- Platform Aging: Their original infrastructure needed a complete overhaul in 2018 to meet modern mobile-responsive standards.
- High-Traffic Reliability: Between pet adoption listings and community event announcements, the site experiences significant traffic spikes that require robust hosting.
- User Empowerment: The organization needed a system that allowed their internal team to make rapid updates to animal profiles and emergency alerts without needing a developer for every change.
The WebCitz Solution
We provided a multi-phased approach to their digital infrastructure, focusing on stability and staff independence:
- The Joomla Era (2018–2019): We executed a comprehensive redesign and launch on the Joomla platform. This version of the site brought a modern, professional look to the organization and improved the navigation for potential adopters looking for dogs, cats, and small animals.
- Managed Hosting & Maintenance: For several years, we provided the secure hosting environment and technical maintenance for the Joomla site. This “under-the-hood” work was critical in ensuring that donation portals and adoption applications remained functional 24/7.
- The WordPress Migration & Hybrid Redesign: As WordPress became the preferred standard for user-friendly content management, OAHS decided to migrate. We assisted an internal team member with the technical heavy lifting of transitioning the site into WordPress.
- Consultative Support: We provided the technical framework and guidance to ensure their internal designer could execute the visual vision while we handled the backend stability.
- Data Integrity: Ensuring that years of community resources and “Happy Tails” stories were preserved during the move.
- Ongoing Technical Partnership: We continue to provide the hosting and core support for the current WordPress site, acting as a reliable resource whenever the internal team hits a technical hurdle.
The Result
By trusting WebCitz for nearly a decade, the Oshkosh Area Humane Society has successfully navigated the shift from the technical complexity of Joomla to the intuitive power of WordPress. The current site is a high-functioning community hub that makes it easy for the public to adopt, volunteer, and donate. Our collaborative approach – helping their internal team take the lead on design while we manage the infrastructure – has provided them with a cost-effective, high-impact digital presence.
