Upwardly Global is a national nonprofit that helps immigrants and refugees restart their professional careers in the United States. Many of the individuals they serve bring advanced degrees and years of experience, yet face systemic barriers to finding work in their fields. Upwardly Global provides job coaching, training, and employer connections to help newcomers thrive in the American workforce.
Upwardly Global wanted their digital presence to match the scale and depth of their impact. Their website serves as a primary touchpoint for job seekers, funders, employers, and partners—but it had become outdated, hard to manage, and difficult for users to navigate. They needed a site that was not only more visually modern, but also easier to use for a multilingual, mobile-first audience.
The organization needed a major upgrade without disrupting the tools their team relied on. Their site had over 150 pages of existing content that needed to be migrated, organized, and preserved. At the same time, the site had to remain editable through their current content management system (CMS) so staff could manage content updates easily moving forward.
Black Digital led the website redesign with three priorities in mind: accessibility, clarity, and content management. We began by mapping out the user experience, focusing on the most common visitor paths: job seekers looking for help, employers searching for talent, and donors wanting to learn more.
We migrated and reorganized over 150 existing pages into a streamlined structure that made content easier to find and interact with. We optimized the site for desktop and mobile users, ensuring a consistent experience across devices. And, understanding the diverse backgrounds of Upwardly Global’s audience, we integrated a translation tool offering 18 languages—removing a key barrier for many first-time visitors.
The site was rebuilt within their existing CMS, with added functionality and custom plugins that gave their internal team more flexibility and control.
Design & Deliverables
Within three months of launch, the new site saw a 42% increase in page views, a 17% increase in users, and a 4.39% decrease in bounce rate. Visitors spent more time engaging with content and were more likely to return. Internally, the Upwardly Global team gained greater independence and flexibility to update and manage the site without developer assistance.
Stakeholder Engagement
Web Design
UX Design
Content Strategy
Front + Back End Development
Accessibility + Language Tools
CMS Customization
Data Migration
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