Start a Project

Case study · Nonprofit · 2025

West Palm Beach Center for Arts & Technology.

A complete rebuild of WPBCAT's digital foundation, from website design and accessibility to search visibility, email infrastructure, and migration.

  • CustomBuilt for WPBCAT's needs
  • WCAG 2.1 AAAccessibility practices
  • ZeroDowntime during migration
  • 100Lighthouse SEO score
(01) The client

About WPBCAT.

WPBCAT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing no-cost career training in West Palm Beach, Florida. Their programs span culinary arts, construction trades, and technology, free for qualifying participants and designed to connect students directly to employment.

WPBCAT's work had evolved, but its digital presence hadn't kept pace. The existing WordPress site was difficult to use on mobile, lacked an accessibility foundation, had limited search visibility, and was paired with email-deliverability issues. Marcai was brought in to rebuild the experience and the infrastructure behind it.

Client
West Palm Beach Center for Arts & Technology
Website
wpbcat.org ↗
Industry
Nonprofit · Workforce development
Scope
Design, development, accessibility, SEO, email, migration
Status
Live
(02) The problem

What they were working with.

  1. An aging WordPress setup

    The existing site relied on an aging WordPress setup with accumulated plugins, inconsistent design, and performance issues that made ongoing maintenance harder than it needed to be.

  2. Not designed for mobile

    Key pages and interactions weren't designed around mobile users, creating friction for prospective students trying to explore programs or get in touch from their phones.

  3. Significant accessibility gaps

    The site lacked important accessibility features, including consistent keyboard navigation, visible focus states, descriptive labeling, and properly structured content.

  4. Limited search and email infrastructure

    Critical SEO elements were missing or incomplete, including metadata, structured data, and sitemap configuration. Email authentication also needed attention to improve deliverability.

(03) Before and after

Before & after.

The WPBCAT homepage after the Marcai redesign The same homepage before the redesign

Before · the old WordPress site

  • Aging WordPress implementation
  • Poor mobile experience
  • Major accessibility gaps
  • Limited SEO infrastructure
  • Inconsistent visual experience
  • Email-deliverability issues

After · the new site

  • Custom responsive website
  • WCAG-focused accessibility implementation
  • Complete SEO foundation
  • Search Console configuration
  • Improved email authentication
  • Coordinated zero-downtime migration

View the live site at wpbcat.org ↗

After · the new site

New WPBCAT homepage
New WPBCAT about section
New WPBCAT programs page
New WPBCAT leadership section
New WPBCAT culinary program page
New WPBCAT get-involved page
New WPBCAT values section
New WPBCAT donate page

Before · the old WordPress site

Old WPBCAT WordPress homepage
Old WPBCAT mission section
Old WPBCAT programs page
Old WPBCAT about page
(04) What we built

Full-scope deliverables.

Design & development

  • Custom responsive website built from the ground up
  • Redesigned program, leadership, donation, and information experiences
  • Reusable visual and interface system
  • Mobile-first layouts and interactions
  • Custom error and confirmation experiences

Accessibility

  • WCAG 2.1 AA-focused implementation
  • Keyboard navigation and visible focus states
  • Semantic page structure and accessible component labeling
  • Reduced-motion support
  • Accessible touch targets and image descriptions

Search & discoverability

  • Page-level SEO strategy and metadata
  • Structured data implementation
  • XML sitemap and crawl configuration
  • Google Search Console setup
  • Redirect and legacy-URL management

Integrations & infrastructure

  • Constant Contact integration
  • Donation and inquiry workflows
  • Email authentication improvements
  • Security and spam protection
  • Hosting and deployment configuration

Migration

  • Full transition away from the previous WordPress environment
  • Legacy content and URL handling
  • Production cutover with no service interruption
(05) Tech stack

Built clean.

Custom-built architecture selected for WPBCAT's specific needs.

Development

  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • JavaScript
  • Apache

Integrations

  • Constant Contact
  • PayPal
  • Formsubmit

Infrastructure

  • GoDaddy cPanel
  • DKIM authentication

Standards

  • WCAG 2.1 AA
  • Schema.org structured data
(06) The outcome

What changed after.

Faster, simpler performance

Removing the legacy plugin-heavy environment reduced technical overhead and created a significantly leaner front end.

Designed around mobile use

The rebuilt experience gives prospective students a responsive path through programs, inquiries, and donation pages across screen sizes.

SEO-ready foundation

Proper metadata, structured data, and a sitemap submitted to Google Search Console from day one.

Accessibility built in

The new site incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility practices across navigation, structure, interaction, motion, and content presentation.

By the numbers

  • 100Lighthouse SEO score
  • 95Lighthouse accessibility score
  • #6Google rank, “culinary school west palm beach”
  • Top 5core brand & local search terms

Source: Google Search Console (trailing 90 days) and Google Lighthouse, June 2026. The previous WordPress site was effectively unindexed; these figures reflect the live site, not a before-and-after comparison.

(07) Let's build

Have something you want to improve?

Bring us the problem. We'll help you figure out what comes next.

Start a conversation → See what we do

The first conversation is free. We reply within one business day.