WEBSITE PROPOSAL
central wasatch commission
A proposal from Brad Hogan
Introduction
First off, thank you for the opportunity to submit a proposal for the redesign of the Central Wasatch Commission website!
As an independent web designer and developer based in Utah, I specialize in creating clean, timeless, and highly usable websites that are built to last. My focus is not on following short-lived design trends, but on creating websites that communicate clearly, are easy to navigate, perform well, and remain easy to manage for years after launch.
I’ve had the privilege of working with several Utah nonprofit organizations whose missions closely align with protecting and advocating for our public lands, including:
- Save Our Canyons
- Wasatch Backcountry Alliance
- Glen Canyon Institute
These projects have given me experience designing websites that balance storytelling, advocacy, education, and public engagement while remaining approachable for internal staff to maintain.
One philosophy guides every project I take on:
I want to build a website that your organization can confidently manage without relying on a developer for every update. Of course, that benefits your team—but it also benefits me. I take pride in the work I create and want each website to remain something I’m proud to showcase in my portfolio for years to come. That means creating a site that continues to look polished, performs well, and evolves gracefully as your organization grows.
Relevant Experience
My work focuses on organizations that need thoughtful information architecture, accessible design, and content management systems that empower internal staff.
Areas of experience include:
- Building designs for nonprofit organizations with a goal to promote advocacy work and engage the community
- Public-facing informational websites
- WordPress development
- Responsive web design
- Accessibility-focused development
- SEO optimized development
- E-commerce and/or donation development
- Performance optimization (i.e. site speed and security)
related projects
save
our
canyons
WORK
— WEB DESIGN
— WORDPRESS dev
— DONATIONS
LOCATION
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
View Website
Save Our Canyons is a Utah nonprofit dedicated to protecting and preserving the Wasatch Mountains.
I live in one of the canyons these folks are constantly fighting for (Big Cottonwood Canyon) so this project hits VERY close to home for me.
I was brought into this project to move the site off of Joomla and into a modern version of a native WordPress block theme (no page builders, less things to break, less headaches).
In addition to that, they of course wanted an improved design that would help them better communicate their advocacy work to help the public better understand what is going on and how to get involved.
glen
canyon
institute
WORK
— WEB DESIGN
— WORDPRESS dev
— DONATIONS
— E-COMMERCE
LOCATION
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
View Website
Glen Canyon Institute is dedicated to the restoration of Glen Canyon, and a healthy, free-flowing Colorado River through Grand Canyon.
Stop whatever you’re doing and start working with Brad Hogan—now. We’ve hired web designers, brand consultants, and strategists, but all we needed this whole time was Brad’s expertise. He created a beautiful, user-friendly solutions that has made my life easier while being an absolute joy to work with. I can’t recommend him enough!
— Zanna Stutz, Program Director
wasatch
backcountry
alliance
WORK
— WEB DESIGN
— WORDPRESS dev
— DONATIONS
— E-COMMERCE
— subscriptions
— memberships
LOCATION
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
View Website
Wasatch Backcountry Alliance is the recognized voice for the backcountry community involved in human-powered winter recreation in the Central Wasatch Mountains.
The website for our scrappy non-profit was thrown together over the years and the lack of organization and difficulty in finding information on the site meant our message was lost on most visitors. Brad stepped up to wrangle this mess into a modern, well designed, and well organized site that showcases the mission and primary programs of our group. Brad guided us every step of the way in a truly collaborative process to tear down and rebuild the site while maintaining the history and content that had accumulated in it. We highly recommend his skills and services to others.
— Aaron London, Board President
Proposed Approach
1. Discovery & Planning
Every successful project starts by understanding the goals. During this phase we will conduct up to three calls to discuss:
- Content organizational goals
- Existing website strengths and weaknesses
- Navigation structure
- Stakeholder needs
- Accessibility requirements
- Technical requirements
- Desired functionality
- Future growth considerations
These conversations help ensure the website is solving the right problems before a single page is designed.
Deliverables from this phase include:
- Sitemap
- Content recommendations (NOTE: I will not be writing copy. If you need this service, I work with copywriters who I can bring into the conversation to get you a separate quote for that)
- Navigation strategy
- Project roadmap
2. Design
I will design up to five unique page templates, including the homepage and other key page types identified during discovery.
Rather than designing dozens of one-off pages, each template will be built using reusable design “patterns” — consistent layouts, content sections, and visual components that your team can mix and match throughout the site.
This approach provides several benefits:
- visual consistency across the website
- easier future expansion
- simpler content editing
- faster page creation
- reduced long-term maintenance
These reusable patterns allow your staff to confidently create new pages while maintaining a cohesive visual identity.
3. Development
The website will be developed using the latest native WordPress standards.
Rather than relying on third-party page builder plugins, I build sites using WordPress’s built-in Block Editor (Gutenberg).
This approach results in:
- faster performance
- improved security
- cleaner code
- easier long-term maintenance (i.e. your site will not blow up when you make an update!)
- a much simpler editing experience for staff
The site will also include:
- fully responsive layouts for desktop, tablet, and mobile
- accessibility best practices meeting current ADA standards
- SEO-friendly architecture
- performance optimization
- security hardening
- carefully selected plugins only where they add meaningful functionality
I intentionally keep plugin usage to a minimum. Fewer plugins generally lead to better performance, improved security, and a simpler maintenance experience.
Functionality will include support for:
- public meeting notices
- public meeting calendar
- news and blog content
- public comment submission
- search engine optimization
- analytics integration
- security enhancements
- performance optimization
4. Content Management & Training
Once development is complete, I will provide training to ensure your staff is comfortable managing the website independently. I can either do this on video calls or I can create a small directory of how-to videos that your team can access as needed.
This includes guidance on:
- adding and editing pages
- creating blog posts
- updating meeting information
- managing images
- maintaining consistent layouts using reusable design patterns
The goal is to leave your team confident in maintaining the website without ongoing developer assistance for routine updates.
Accessibility
Accessibility will be incorporated throughout the project rather than treated as a final checklist.
The website will be developed following current ADA and WCAG best practices, including:
- semantic HTML structure
- keyboard navigation support
- proper heading hierarchy
- sufficient color contrast
- descriptive alternative text
- accessible forms
- responsive typography
- testing across desktop and mobile devices
Accessibility considerations will be included during both design and development.
Recommended Platform
I recommend WordPress using the native Block Editor (Gutenberg). I know you guys are using a version of WordPress now which you may or may not like some of what is there, but the way I build in WordPress is to utilize the latest Block Editor which is a visual editor so more or less what you see in the back-end is also what visitors will see on the front-end. It makes for a much easier content editing experience and is honestly pretty fun to build out pages. I’d be happy to show you examples of some of the other nonprofit sites mentioned above so you can see how the editor works on these newer WordPress sites.
Using the native editor instead of page builder plugins keeps the website:
- faster
- easier to maintain
- more secure
- easier for staff to learn
- compatible with future WordPress updates
Proposed Timeline
The proposed schedule comfortably meets the desired launch before the end of February 2027.
| Phase | Estimated Duration |
|---|---|
| Discovery & Planning | 2 weeks |
| Information Architecture & Content Review | 1 week |
| Design | 3 weeks |
| Design Revisions | 2 weeks |
| Development | 5 weeks |
| Content Population & Client Review | 2 weeks |
| Testing, Accessibility Review & Launch Preparation | 2 weeks |
| Final Launch | End of February 2027 |
This schedule allows adequate time for stakeholder feedback while maintaining project momentum.
Cost Estimate
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Discovery & Planning | $2,000 |
| Website Design (up to five unique page templates) | $5,000 |
| WordPress Development | $7,000 |
| Accessibility, Performance Optimization, QA & Launch | $2,500 |
| Total Project Cost | $16,500 |
optional Costs
There are no required ongoing maintenance fees. My normal hourly rate for one-off support or help is $150/hour. However, if you want to keep me on a retainer to be available for any website help, design help (social media or website related) or to add new features, I offer a deep discount for that type of work.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Option 1) Website hosting only | $50/month |
| Option 2) Monthly design or dev work for up to two hours per month + website hosting | $150/month |
THANK YOU!
The Central Wasatch Commission plays an important role in protecting one of Utah’s most treasured landscapes, and I’d welcome the opportunity to help create a website that supports that mission.
My goal is to deliver a website that is visually timeless, easy for visitors to navigate, accessible to all users, and straightforward for your team to maintain long after launch.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss the project further.
– Brad Hogan