Organizational Website Development
Project Context Definition
This project was completed as part of the mandatory community service internship requirement for the Software Engineering degree at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB). Developed collaboratively alongside two exceptional team members, the internship encompassed 120 hours dedicated to providing professional and technical support to GirlUp Venezuela, a non-profit organization with a powerful mission focused on promoting gender equality and empowering women across Venezuela.
Organizational Problem
GirlUp Venezuela is a non-profit organization passionately advocating for gender equality and women’s rights. Despite their impactful efforts, the organization lacked a dedicated online presence to showcase their identity, core values, ongoing activities, and advocacy campaigns. Without a professional website, GirlUp Venezuela faced significant limitations in reaching broader audiences, effectively communicating their initiatives, and engaging the community.
Proposed Solution
To address this challenge, the team proposed the development of a robust and versatile corporate website named “Feminismo al Alcance.” The solution aimed to provide a comprehensive digital platform allowing GirlUp Venezuela to clearly present their organization, values, and projects. The proposed website structure included several key components: an engaging landing page, a detailed “About Us” section highlighting organizational identity, a dynamic blog area for regular content publishing, a contact page facilitating community engagement, and specialized forms designed for reporting sexual abuse cases anonymously and securely. Additionally, the solution featured an interactive calendar to schedule and promote events, thus enhancing the organization’s outreach and operational efficiency.
Business Requirements and Design
The team began the project with a thorough analysis of GirlUp Venezuela’s business requirements to ensure alignment with organizational goals. After comprehensive requirement gathering sessions and multiple feedback iterations with the product owners, a detailed design was developed using Figma, guided closely by the organization’s branding guidelines. The resulting interface featured clear navigation, intuitive design, and visually appealing layouts tailored to represent the values and message of GirlUp Venezuela effectively. Key functionalities designed included intuitive forms, interactive event scheduling, and a content management system for seamless updates.
Technical Stack
The website was constructed using the WordPress platform due to its robustness, ease of content management, and customization capabilities. Custom plugins were developed specifically for this project to extend the default WordPress functionality. These plugins employed shortcodes to encapsulate HTML structures, styling, and advanced functionalities, ensuring the final implementation precisely matched the Figma design mockups. This approach also allowed non-technical users to effortlessly manage and update website content.
Result
The project was successfully completed with clear, explicit approval from the product owners at GirlUp Venezuela, affirming the effectiveness and quality of the delivered solution. While the website fulfilled all technical and functional expectations and requirements, organizational constraints prevented its immediate deployment online. Nonetheless, the comprehensive documentation, design clarity, and custom-developed functionalities provided GirlUp Venezuela with a strong foundation to significantly enhance their digital presence in the future.
