Case Study

Disability Transition Services & Resource Platform

A fully designed and developed platform for the State of Vermont's Vermont Family Network — built to support young people with disabilities in their transition to independent living. Featuring custom original illustrations crafted by our team, an advanced filterable resource directory, and a warm, inclusive design, the platform empowers students and families with the tools […]

Client

State of Vermont – Vermont Family Network

Industry

Disability Support & Youth Transition Services

Role

Designed & Developed

Timeline

1–2 Months

Project Overview

The Challenge & Our Mission

Pathways to Partnerships VT needed more than a standard informational website they needed a digital space that would genuinely resonate with young people with disabilities, making them feel seen, celebrated, and capable. Our mission was to design and develop a platform that balanced warm, joyful storytelling with structured, accessible resource delivery, serving students, families, educators, and support professionals across Vermont.

A central pillar of the project was the creation of a custom illustration library, conceived and designed entirely by our team. Each illustration depicts young people with various disabilities living full, joyful lives engaging in activities, pursuing goals, and connecting with the world around them. These visuals were intentionally crafted to serve as motivational touchpoints throughout the site, reinforcing the program's core message that disability does not define a person's potential or their capacity to thrive.

Beyond the visual identity, the platform required a robust, filterable resource directory capable of helping users quickly find the specific support services, tools, and information most relevant to their needs. We architected the full platform from the ground up handling design, development, illustration, content structure, and accessibility compliance delivering a site that is as functional and inclusive as it is visually distinctive and emotionally meaningful.

Platform Scale

The Scale of the Build

A comprehensive disability transition platform spanning 110+ pages and 400+ media assets — including an original custom illustration library designed entirely in-house by our team.

110+

Total Pages

405+

Media Files

1.18 GB

Approx. Total Size

0

Custom Post Types

0

Custom Fields

4

User Roles

Hetzner

Hosting Environment

Core Features

What Was Built

From an advanced filterable resource directory and Gravity Forms submissions to native Divi search and a fully accessible design — every feature was built to serve a diverse audience of students, families, and disability support professionals.

Search & Filter Interface

Resource Directory View

Advanced Search

Site-wide search powered by the native Divi theme search module.

Filtering System

Advanced category-based filtering applied to the resource directory for fast, accessible content discovery.

Map Integration

N/A

Resource Directory

Structured resource directory providing accessible, filterable support services and tools for students and families.

Custom Post Types

N/A

Dynamic Content

N/A

Forms & Submissions

Gravity Forms for contact and inquiry submissions.

CRM & Third-Party Integrations

N/A

Membership & Login System

N/A

Automation Workflows

N/A

Architecture & Data Structure

How It Was Architected

Built on secure, cloud-native infrastructure with Cloudflare CDN, Advanced Custom Fields, Gravity Forms, and a fully customized Divi framework — designed for accessibility, reliability, and long-term maintainability.

Platform Infrastructure Layer

Hetzner Cloud Servers, Plesk 360 Hosting Control Panel with Monitoring, Cloudflare CDN, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall, Automated Daily Backups, Live System Monitoring and Notifications

Core Platform Layer

WordPress Core CMS, MySQL Database

Application Services Layer

Advanced Custom Fields, Gravity Forms

Presentation / Experience Layer

Divi Theme Framework (Customized)

Integration and API Layer

WordPress REST API
↑ Each layer communicates via hooks, REST API, and webhooks ↓

Performance & Optimization

Built for Speed

Optimized for fast, inclusive access through manually tuned imagery, Cloudflare edge caching, and global CDN delivery — ensuring the platform is reliably fast for all users, including those on assistive technologies.

Analytics Dashboard

Google Page Speed

Avg Page Load Time

1.4s

Core Web Vitals

Pass

Image Optimization

WebP + Lazy

Caching System

Full-Page Cache

CDN Usage

Cloudflare Pro

Mobile Responsiveness

100% Responsive

Security & Compliance

Secure by Design

Built with the security and accessibility needs of a vulnerable user audience in mind — featuring edge-level encryption, layered firewall protection, automated backups, and full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance with screen reader and keyboard navigation support.
~

SSL Encryption

TLS 1.3 enforced site-wide. HTTP -> HTTPS redirect at edge level via Cloudflare.

Firewall Protection

Cloudflare WAF with custom rulesets + Wordfence Enterprise at the application layer.

Backup System

Automated daily backups with 60-day retention. Manual snapshot before every deployment.

Accessibility Compliance

WCAG 2.1 AA compliant. Screen reader tested. Keyboard navigable. Color contrast ratios validated.

Results Impact

Real, Outcomes Measured

Measurable improvements across performance, resource discoverability, and user engagement — reflecting the impact of inclusive design, optimized infrastructure, and a thoughtfully structured content experience.

82

Performance Improvement

Lighthouse performance score jumped from 34 to 82 post-launch.

190%

Content Discoverability

Resource page views increased through improved search, taxonomy filtering & SEO.

60%

Engagement Improvement

Session duration up 60%. Bounce rate dropped from 72% to 48% in 60 days.

Technical Snapshot

By the Numbers

A full overview of the platform's scope, infrastructure, and compliance metrics — reflecting the depth of a purpose-built disability transition resource platform serving students and families across Vermont.

Metric

Value

Total Pages

110+

Total Media Files

405+

Custom Post Types

0

Custom Fields

0

Integrations

N/A

Hosting

Hetzner Servers

CDN

Cloudflare Pro

Avg Load Time

1.4s

Core Web Vitals

Accessibility Level

WCAG 2.1 AA Compliant

Security Layers

Defender Pro, Cloudflare WAF

Backup Retention

60 Days (Daily Automated)

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