The Mensa for Kids website is one of the Mensa Education and Research Foundation’s greatest success stories. And now it’s even better.
Lisa Van Gemert, our Gifted Youth Ambassador, has done a wonderful job of developing content for MensaForKids.org. Unfortunately, that awesome content had been housed within an outdated, hard-to-navigate site that reflected poorly on the Mensa Foundation. Last August, we decided it was time to make the website fit the content. Redesigning a website is a complex, time-consuming process, but we felt we had a window of opportunity to accomplish this high-priority project, and the site now reflects the awesome content that has been there for some time.
The redesigned website, now active after almost six months of hard work, has a more responsive, mobile-first, modern design. Additionally, it is now better suited for search engine optimization; it has a simple, refined navigation system; and it now requires a greatly reduced number of clicks to serve up desired content. Those who come to this site are primarily teachers, parents and gifted students, people who, our research shows, overwhelmingly use mobile devices and are attuned to more sophisticated web design. With that in mind, our upgrades speak directly to that audience.
In my mind, the mobile device adaptability is not only a major upgrade but is among the best you’ll see within the industry. Searching within the site is dramatically improved, and because social sharing of this content is important, the site’s mechanics and aesthetics of social sharing are optimized.
Besides its improved functionality, the site’s aesthetics shine a better light on the Foundation and its work with gifted youth, their families and teachers. And the site is now easily adaptable to future growth; additions and revisions will feel native to the end user and not forced. I encourage you to take a look, even if you are not a gifted kid, parent or teacher, and especially if you are.
This project benefited from a terrific team, which drew on feedback we had received over the years from Foundation trustees and site users. Mensa’s Social Media Editor Scott Snider and I broke down the site and then reimagined it in a blueprint from which the current site was rebuilt. Technology Director Matthew Needham and IT Coordinator Collin Ticer led Scott and me through the intricacies of coding and programming, and Art Director Hilary Moore created a color palette and new logo and guided us on visuals. The Foundation Board and Foundation Director Jill Beckham were very supportive and, of course, Lisa was an excellent consultant and reliable resource.
But none of this could have happened without you; it is your donations to the Foundation that keep MensaForKids.org going, improving not only the website but the lives of students, parents and teachers across the world.