New microsite design and enhanced UX moves the needle for women in nontraditional careers


Read about how we implemented enhanced user experience design along with new messaging to promote awareness of nontraditional careers in Philadelphia for women in construction, transit, and manufacturing to move the needle.

WINC stands for Women in Nontraditional Careers and is a public-private initiative (funded by the US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, and others). The website is a microsite hosted on the larger Philadelphia Works website, which we developed earlier this year. The WINC initiative is designed to get young women and career changers aware of the lucrative nontraditional career-paths available in the Philadelphia area and connect them to resources to help them make the transition into a new career or with apprenticeships.

The problem

The old website design needed a refresh and update. The user experience and content flow were poor, it didn’t meet accessibility standards, and didn’t contain functionality for lead generation. It was difficult for the audience to understand what WINC did and what resources were available to those in the community. The messaging and resources are important to young girls and adult career-changing women who, perhaps, weren’t aware women could get into manufacturing, construction, and trades careers. The website needed clear information, a clear news page, and a clear FAQ page, as well as a form to capture lead-generation data. 

The solution

Design Strategy and User Experience

Key Medium road mapped the brand strategy and designed a prototype of the microsite. The microsite was built from the ground up with attention to on-page, as well as scheme-markup, mobile-first, and other structural considerations, meaning that the long-term structure of the website will be future-proof.

To drive marketing and social media brand awareness, we also commissioned artwork to drive empowerment with young girls and adult women. The Philadelphia-themed Rosie the Riveter illustration was seen by tens of thousands in Philadelphia and Chicago.

Illustration of a modern Rosie the Riveter by Destiny Simmons
Today’s Rosie – art by Destiny Simmons & commissioned by Key Medium

We also re-wrote the website copy for the site to appeal to the website’s two target audiences: young girls who need to be aware of all of the career options available for their future and adult women who would like to transition into a new career.

The new website is fit for purpose and provides seamless user experience, displaying clear information and pathways of where to find the necessary information and what to do next. Girls and women can figure out if they want to submit a lead-gen form to find out information or they can find out how to get into non-traditional careers or be connected to apprenticeship programs. 

Strategic Branding and Digital Development

For branding and development, we created benefits-led messaging, developing a microsite complete with lead generation functionalities, clear FAQs, and a news section of the latest events. Some of the CTA buttons lead to the larger Philadelphia Works website, connecting users to the right resources in the community. The website also provides case studies and success stories of women in non-traditional trades who are perfectly suited to the challenges of these non-traditional careers.

The results

After delivering the microsite and instilling the idea of driving empowerment through the WINC brand, we had these results. 

  • Created a modern-day version of ‘Rosie the Riveter’ illustration seen by tens of thousands on social media–towards the goal of empowering young women and prospective career changers
  • Increased traffic to the new microsite by over 41%
  • Generated leads, helping connect people to resources
  • Received an Honorable Mention in the 2019 MarCom Awards competition from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals

If you need a single-page microsite to deliver these results for your business, get in touch.