Website design · Nonprofit · Ridgefield, WA
Friends of Ridgefield NWR: a refuge website the community actually uses.
The Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge is a nonprofit membership group that supports one of Southwest Washington’s best-loved places to see wildlife. We built a custom website that brings together visitor information, programs, events and ways to give, and that their own team keeps up to date.
At a Glance
Visitor numbers from the site’s Google Analytics, January to December 2025.
- 46,000+visits in 2025
- 60%of visits came from Google search
- 30+pages of programs, events and visitor information
- 1easy back end their team updates themselves
The Brief
The refuge draws birders, families, photographers and school groups. The Friends needed one place that answers visitors’ questions, promotes their events and programs, and turns interest into members, volunteers and donations.
Help people plan a visit
Directions, maps, rules, the auto tour and what wildlife is around, without sending people hunting.
Promote events and programs
BirdFest & Bluegrass, the photo contest, field trips, community workshops and the Cathlapotle Plankhouse.
Make it easy to support
Clear paths to join, volunteer, donate and shop the Friends merch store.
What We Built
A custom design that puts the refuge’s photography first and keeps a large amount of information easy to find.
Organized around what visitors want
Visit, Get Involved, Programs and Resources, with Ways to Donate and Join always in reach.
News and events on the homepage
The latest workshops, story times and refuge updates appear as soon as the team posts them.
Event and contest sections
Pages for BirdFest & Bluegrass and the photo contests, including the fledgling contest and past winners.
Programs and education
The community nature center, urban wildlife conservation, refuge field trips, habitat restoration and resources for educators.
Visitor resources
Directions and refuge maps, the auto tour audio tour, bird sightings and species lists, and a link to the official refuge notices.
Built for their team to run
A simplified back end and training videos, so staff and volunteers can add news, pages and events on their own.
What the Friends Said
“The Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge are so thankful to Graticle Design for their amazing work! They re-vamped and updated our website in the time promised, and made it so user friendly!”
Friends of the Ridgefield Refuge, on Google
Questions About This Project
Who keeps the site up to date?
The Friends do. We set the site up so staff and volunteers can post news, events and contest results themselves, and recorded training videos to help them get started.
Do you build websites for other nonprofits?
Yes, including the Friends of the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex, the Astoria Scandinavian Festival and Child Advocates of Cowlitz & Clark County. See websites for nonprofits.
Could you do this for our organization?
That is what we do. Start with a free audit and we will tell you where your current site stands and what would help most.
What the Client Says
The Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge are so thankful to Graticle Design for their amazing work! They re-vamped and updated our website in the time promised, and made it so user friendly! It is so easy now to…
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