Stand Beside Them has a clear mission: provide free professional coaching to veterans, military spouses, and caregivers navigating life’s transitions. Their team is small, their impact is significant, and every hour matters. So when their Wix website was no longer keeping up – with their brand, their programs, or their workload – it was time for a change.
The Challenge
The existing Wix site had done its job, but it had run its course. The design didn’t reflect the organization’s identity or the seriousness of the work they do. Navigation was inconsistent, coaching areas weren’t clearly organized, and the coach roster lacked the depth and discoverability that prospective coachees needed to feel confident in finding their coach.
Behind the scenes, the problem was even more time-consuming. Every new coachee application came in through a basic form and had to be manually processed by staff – copying data, tracking entries, following up. For a lean nonprofit team, that kind of administrative drag adds up fast.
The Approach
Devadigm rebuilt the site from the ground up on WordPress with a modern and non-developer friendly theme and blocks set up, creating a clean, flexible foundation. The new site runs on SiteGround.
The technical approach was built around two goals: a better experience for visitors, and less manual work for staff.
For the visitor experience, the team built a fully filterable coach directory, so prospective coachees can search by name, specialty, or location and find their coach quickly. Clicking a coach card opens a detailed profile popup showing full bios, credentials, and areas of focus. Dedicated coaching area pages (Career Development, Executive Leadership, Life & Relationships, Health & Wellness, and Small Business Development) give each program the space to speak for itself.
For the administrative side, WPForms was configured with conditional logic and connected directly to Google Sheets. Now, when a veteran, spouse, or caregiver submits an application through the ‘Apply to Be Coached’ form, the data flows automatically into a structured spreadsheet – no manual data entry required. A separate application form was built for coaches interested in joining the team.
“This is saving us hours [of manual work] each month!”
Nicole B.
Executive Director
Devadigm’s designer created new mockups adapting Stand Beside Them’s existing red, white, and navy brand identity into a modern, professional layout with improved visual hierarchy, photography integration, and a fully responsive, mobile-first design throughout. Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console were connected, and URL redirects from the old Wix structure were mapped to preserve any existing search rankings.
The Outcome
The performance results were immediate. Mobile PageSpeed Insights improved from 52 to 78! Desktop improved from 87 to 95. The site is faster, cleaner, and better positioned to be found.
The bigger win might be the time saved. The WPForms and Google Sheets automation eliminated the manual intake processing that had been eating into staff hours – hours that can now go toward what Stand Beside Them does best: supporting the veterans, spouses, and caregivers who come to them for help.
SBT staff summed it up simply: “Thanks for everything, Shane – all the new functionalities are AMAZING!” and in another conversation mentioned, “This is saving us hours [of manual work] each month!”. With that saved time alone, the website will pay for itself quickly.
The Takeaway
A website rebuild isn’t just about how something looks. For organizations running lean, the right build can meaningfully reduce the administrative burden on staff. Connecting intake forms to automated workflows – even something as straightforward as a Google Sheets integration – can return real time to a team that needs it.
If your organization is spending more time processing paperwork than serving people, your website might be part of the solution.
