Embolden Design: Newsroom - Archived Press

10/29/03
Embolden Design Enhances The Prout School's Website

Narragansett Times
Oct. 29, 2003

By: MARK SCHIELDROP

SOUTH KINGSTOWN - Ann-Marie Harrington's first computer experience was during the year she was graduated from Prout, in 1982. Back then, she couldn't have possibly imagined how computers and Prout would come together for her today.

As president of Embolden Design in Pawtucket, Harrington and her staff have redesigned the school's website. More than a simple re-tooling, the new site not only is much more visually appealing, but also gives Prout administrators the ability to add content independently, instantly, and almost effortlessly.

"We've had about 320,000 hits on our website in September and October alone," said Principal Brother Edmond Precourt. "That's 200,000 more than last year in the time frame. And the average visit time is seven minutes."

Precourt credits the new design for drawing visitors, and with an aggressive advertising campaign on the internet, in print, and on television and radio stations, people are getting a clear idea of Prout's technological capabilities when they respond to one of the ads and give the website a visit.

"I'm very happy with it. I think what it does is send a message of where we are technologically to the public," said Precourt.

An all state basketball and volleyball player and president of the student council at Prout, Harrington was voted by her peers as most athletic and woman of the year in her senior year.She went on to study at Bryant College and received a business degree there before getting a master's in social work at Rhode Island College.

Her work with nonprofits included time at Rhode Island Kids Count, a children's policy and advocacy organization. It was here that she realized nonprofits could make use of emerging internet technologies to disseminate information, but the costs associated were typically out of reach for most agencies.

"I saw people getting just static pages for tens of thousands of dollars. I asked myself 'What's going on here?' It all seemed kind of inflated," said Harrington.
She quickly taught herself as much as she could about web development in all aspects, realizing she could make use of both sides of her brain.

"I've always been artistic, but loved science and math," said Harrington. "This way I get to combine the two in a great way. It's the best of both worlds, I guess you could say."

Harrington started Embolden Design from her home in 1998, shortly before the tech sector of the economy collapsed. Unlike many similar firms, Embolden didn't fall apart but has enjoyed steady growth.

"We've been very fortunate," said Harrington.

Today, the firm is nestled in the heart of Pawtucket's old manufacturing district which, as of late, has seen an artistic and cultural revival as the desolate old brick factories are renovated into lofts and offices.

Embolden's office is brightly colored and spacious, the hardwood floor pitted with bruises and scratches from generations of heavy machinery and industriousness sealed under a coat of shiny varnish. Echoes of keystrokes bounce along the cavernous ceilings over the faint but distinct hum of computers.

Embolden's roster includes 75 active clients with 60 percent being nonprofit agencies. Notables include Bank RI, the Brown University Science Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Providence,

Spherics, Inc., Beacon Hill Staffing, KISS Storage, and Everything Track and Field - one of the largest retailers of track equipment in the world with thousands of products for sale through their online store.

"Initially it didn't seem realistic to me," said Harrington. "I wanted to grow cautiously." Her recipe for success has been rooted in the principle that an adaptable relationship with each client is better than charging by the page, picture, or size of a site. Stir in some talented programming and graphic design skills, cater to a niche market of nonprofits with steep discounts, and understanding why Embolden keeps growing when their industry is supposedly a shambles becomes a lot easier.

"We're proud to say that all of our business has come from word of mouth," said Harrington.

"We've never done any advertising. We're not just techies, we present ourselves as collaborators and consult with the client. We kind of get to know what their needs are. It's a relationship we build and change with them as they change."

Embolden early on realized the sooner they could let their clients loose to add and remove content from their own sites, the better. The problem is once a website goes from being a static set of pages into a system users can update, post news, add sports scores, and manage sections, the site manager has to use complicated databases to form the back end, or framework of the website.

Rather than outsource a third party piece of software and build sites around it, Embolden decided to flex their coding skills and wrote their own system from scratch. Referred to as Matriarch, their system now forms the back end for all their clients' pages and allowed Harrington to offer The Prout School the ability to keep their site fresh and current with ease. No more calling the web designer requesting changes.

"Well, we called it Matriarch because being a female owned business, we never used the term 'webmaster,'" said Harrington with a smile. "We called it webmothering. Plus, it's the mother of all content management systems."

Now, Prout can administer their site from the school as if it were a bulletin board hanging in the hallway. The borders and menus at the top are fixed, but within, data can be added or removed by filling out a web form.

A couple of administrators in the school have access to the control panel. They can also look at usage statistics, see trends, and create entirely new sections at will. "We're talking about setting up a hall of fame which would be an annual dinner with specific honorees, and since that's going to be an annual thing we're working on developing a page for that," said Precourt.

Also new to the Prout website is a donation area, where anyone can support the school as easily as buying an item from an online vendor.

Precourt also speaks highly of the alumni intranet. An intranet, as opposed to the public internet, is a private network not accessible to the general public, but instead for specific people to congregate exclusively.

In the alumni intranet, Prout grads can converse in discussion boards, look up other classmates, vote in polls, and share photographs, among other things.

"It allows people to be in touch with each other," said Precourt. "We get information and there are notes that are posted. If we're looking for a particular person and that gets posted it allows us to track people down."

With 250 computers in the school for a population of 540 students, Prout enjoys a ratio most public schools can only dream about.

Coinciding with the new site is a CD the school gives to prospective students and their families to showcase what Prout has to offer.

"It has video clips on it and a button to click on to the website. As we visit schools and meet with youngsters when people are going from Catholic elementary to Catholic high school, we present them with this CD which allows the parents to see the materials as well, and it plugs right into the website," said Precourt.

Without the competitive pricing offered by Embolden, Precourt doubts his school would enjoy the kind of website they now have.

"If you shop around, you know you're getting a deal," said Precourt. "We're really grateful of Ann-Marie." Harrington feels grateful for Prout, too.

"I loved Prout," she said. "I loved high school. I actually looked forward to going to school every day. It's one of those special places - there is so much school spirit there, you can't help but get caught up in it when you're at Prout."

The Prout School's website address is www.theproutschool.org.


	about company overview our staff pets & children job opportunities clients featured clients client list services overview full list of services web design and development online community building online marketing strategic web consulting newsroom newsroom archived press signup for enewsletter contact contact us online contact form directions google maps search community foundations // nonprofits // health // higher education // professional services newsroom \| archived press \| signup for enewsletter 10/29/03 Embolden Design Enhances The Prout School's Website Narragansett Times Oct. 29, 2003 By: MARK SCHIELDROP SOUTH KINGSTOWN - Ann-Marie Harrington's first computer experience was during the year she was graduated from Prout, in 1982. Back then, she couldn't have possibly imagined how computers and Prout would come together for her today. As president of Embolden Design in Pawtucket, Harrington and her staff have redesigned the school's website. More than a simple re-tooling, the new site not only is much more visually appealing, but also gives Prout administrators the ability to add content independently, instantly, and almost effortlessly. "We've had about 320,000 hits on our website in September and October alone," said Principal Brother Edmond Precourt. "That's 200,000 more than last year in the time frame. And the average visit time is seven minutes." Precourt credits the new design for drawing visitors, and with an aggressive advertising campaign on the internet, in print, and on television and radio stations, people are getting a clear idea of Prout's technological capabilities when they respond to one of the ads and give the website a visit. "I'm very happy with it. I think what it does is send a message of where we are technologically to the public," said Precourt. An all state basketball and volleyball player and president of the student council at Prout, Harrington was voted by her peers as most athletic and woman of the year in her senior year.She went on to study at Bryant College and received a business degree there before getting a master's in social work at Rhode Island College. Her work with nonprofits included time at Rhode Island Kids Count, a children's policy and advocacy organization. It was here that she realized nonprofits could make use of emerging internet technologies to disseminate information, but the costs associated were typically out of reach for most agencies. "I saw people getting just static pages for tens of thousands of dollars. I asked myself 'What's going on here?' It all seemed kind of inflated," said Harrington. She quickly taught herself as much as she could about web development in all aspects, realizing she could make use of both sides of her brain. "I've always been artistic, but loved science and math," said Harrington. "This way I get to combine the two in a great way. It's the best of both worlds, I guess you could say." Harrington started Embolden Design from her home in 1998, shortly before the tech sector of the economy collapsed. Unlike many similar firms, Embolden didn't fall apart but has enjoyed steady growth. "We've been very fortunate," said Harrington. Today, the firm is nestled in the heart of Pawtucket's old manufacturing district which, as of late, has seen an artistic and cultural revival as the desolate old brick factories are renovated into lofts and offices. Embolden's office is brightly colored and spacious, the hardwood floor pitted with bruises and scratches from generations of heavy machinery and industriousness sealed under a coat of shiny varnish. Echoes of keystrokes bounce along the cavernous ceilings over the faint but distinct hum of computers. Embolden's roster includes 75 active clients with 60 percent being nonprofit agencies. Notables include Bank RI, the Brown University Science Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Providence, Spherics, Inc., Beacon Hill Staffing, KISS Storage, and Everything Track and Field - one of the largest retailers of track equipment in the world with thousands of products for sale through their online store. "Initially it didn't seem realistic to me," said Harrington. "I wanted to grow cautiously." Her recipe for success has been rooted in the principle that an adaptable relationship with each client is better than charging by the page, picture, or size of a site. Stir in some talented programming and graphic design skills, cater to a niche market of nonprofits with steep discounts, and understanding why Embolden keeps growing when their industry is supposedly a shambles becomes a lot easier. "We're proud to say that all of our business has come from word of mouth," said Harrington. "We've never done any advertising. We're not just techies, we present ourselves as collaborators and consult with the client. We kind of get to know what their needs are. It's a relationship we build and change with them as they change." Embolden early on realized the sooner they could let their clients loose to add and remove content from their own sites, the better. The problem is once a website goes from being a static set of pages into a system users can update, post news, add sports scores, and manage sections, the site manager has to use complicated databases to form the back end, or framework of the website. Rather than outsource a third party piece of software and build sites around it, Embolden decided to flex their coding skills and wrote their own system from scratch. Referred to as Matriarch, their system now forms the back end for all their clients' pages and allowed Harrington to offer The Prout School the ability to keep their site fresh and current with ease. No more calling the web designer requesting changes. "Well, we called it Matriarch because being a female owned business, we never used the term 'webmaster,'" said Harrington with a smile. "We called it webmothering. Plus, it's the mother of all content management systems." Now, Prout can administer their site from the school as if it were a bulletin board hanging in the hallway. The borders and menus at the top are fixed, but within, data can be added or removed by filling out a web form. A couple of administrators in the school have access to the control panel. They can also look at usage statistics, see trends, and create entirely new sections at will. "We're talking about setting up a hall of fame which would be an annual dinner with specific honorees, and since that's going to be an annual thing we're working on developing a page for that," said Precourt. Also new to the Prout website is a donation area, where anyone can support the school as easily as buying an item from an online vendor. Precourt also speaks highly of the alumni intranet. An intranet, as opposed to the public internet, is a private network not accessible to the general public, but instead for specific people to congregate exclusively. In the alumni intranet, Prout grads can converse in discussion boards, look up other classmates, vote in polls, and share photographs, among other things. "It allows people to be in touch with each other," said Precourt. "We get information and there are notes that are posted. If we're looking for a particular person and that gets posted it allows us to track people down." With 250 computers in the school for a population of 540 students, Prout enjoys a ratio most public schools can only dream about. Coinciding with the new site is a CD the school gives to prospective students and their families to showcase what Prout has to offer. "It has video clips on it and a button to click on to the website. As we visit schools and meet with youngsters when people are going from Catholic elementary to Catholic high school, we present them with this CD which allows the parents to see the materials as well, and it plugs right into the website," said Precourt. Without the competitive pricing offered by Embolden, Precourt doubts his school would enjoy the kind of website they now have. "If you shop around, you know you're getting a deal," said Precourt. "We're really grateful of Ann-Marie." Harrington feels grateful for Prout, too. "I loved Prout," she said. "I loved high school. I actually looked forward to going to school every day. It's one of those special places - there is so much school spirit there, you can't help but get caught up in it when you're at Prout." The Prout School's website address is www.theproutschool.org.