Rebuilding the Mesa County Democrats Website: From the Ground Up
- Taylor Kelly
- 5 days ago
- 9 min read
When I first sat down with the Mesa County Democrats earlier this year, the goal was clear: build a digital home that reflects the energy, values, and momentum of our local Democratic community. The old website had served its purpose, but it was time to create something new — a space that was more modern, more intuitive, and more inspiring for the voters, volunteers, and candidates who make Mesa County thrive.
This project wasn’t about bells and whistles. It was about accessibility, function, and authenticity. Every line of text, every menu item, every image was chosen to help people connect with the party’s mission — and to do so on a platform that respected both the budget and the volunteer-driven spirit of the organization.
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Starting Fresh: A Web Rebuild Foundation for Growth
When we began, the existing website was running on an older Wix framework with several years of layered edits and patches. Pages loaded slowly, the design felt cluttered, and some sections were difficult to update without digging into old formatting. For a volunteer-led organization that relies on quick updates — new events, changing candidates, updated voter links — that made things challenging.
The first decision we made was to start with a brand-new Wix theme.
Because cost-consciousness was a major priority, I explored several nonprofit-friendly templates that balanced design flexibility with stability. We ultimately chose one that allowed for full customization of navigation, banners, and blog sections while maintaining mobile responsiveness and ADA accessibility.
By rebuilding from the ground up rather than trying to “patch” the old version, we gained the freedom to modernize the color scheme, update fonts, integrate live calendar feeds, and ensure that every page was easy to maintain — even for non-technical volunteers.
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Designing a Website Rebuild for Action
Democracy works best when people can take action quickly — and that principle guided our design choices from the start.
At the top of every page, you’ll now find two Quick Action Buttons:
🟦 DONATE — linked directly to ActBlue for one-click support.
🟦 REGISTER TO VOTE — routing visitors straight to the Colorado Secretary of State’s voter registration system.
These buttons aren’t just convenient; they reflect the top priorities for engagement in any election cycle — funding, communication, and participation. They’re visually consistent across devices, and hover states were styled with a subtle burnt orange accent that echoes the colors of our surrounding mesas.
By designing around these three calls-to-action, we helped the Mesa County Democrats simplify how visitors interact with the site — turning casual browsers into active participants.
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Rethinking Navigation for Clarity and Flow
One of the most common issues with political websites is overloaded menus — years of content accumulation that leave visitors unsure where to click. We wanted to change that.
The new main navigation bar now includes just four top-level items:
WHO WE ARE | TAKE ACTION | NEWS & EVENTS | ELECTIONS
Under each, we created clean, logical sub-menus that group related information intuitively. “Who We Are” houses leadership bios, the mission statement, and the party platform. “Take Action” connects to volunteer opportunities and teams. “News & Events” covers upcoming happenings, past events, newsletters, and press releases. “Elections” centralizes everything voters need — from ballot measures to candidate listings.
We also configured the navigation to work with hover-activated drop-downs, eliminating unnecessary clicks and creating a faster user experience. The site is now structured so future expansions — like an online shop or endorsement page — can be added seamlessly without disrupting the existing flow.
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Bringing People to the Forefront
At the heart of any county party is its people, and we wanted that reflected immediately in the “Who We Are” section.
This page was completely redesigned to spotlight the Mesa County Democratic Party’s leadership team, their stories, and their voices. Each profile includes an approved headshot, a short bio or quote, and links to their social channels when available. We prioritized equal visual treatment across all headshots and aligned text formatting for consistency.
Every single headshot was sized and cropped carefully to avoid awkward framing — even down to small details like avoiding cut-off shoulders or too-tight zoom. The executive committee’s group photos, as well as district precinct organizer and volunteer leader carousels, bring a strong sense of authenticity and local pride.
These visuals don’t just show faces; they tell the story of a team that’s deeply rooted in Mesa County — small business owners, veterans, educators, parents, and lifelong advocates. This section now feels less like an org chart and more like a community portrait.
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Organizing for Engagement: The Power of Google Workspace
Behind the scenes, one of the biggest upgrades was moving the Mesa County Democrats’ communication system into a structured Google Workspace environment.
Previously, contact information was spread across personal emails, making coordination difficult. Now, each leadership role and volunteer team has its own dedicated email address.
This upgrade simplifies internal communication, centralizes shared documents, and strengthens data security. It also gives new volunteers and team members a clear point of contact without having to navigate through personal inboxes or social media messages.
For a small, volunteer-driven organization, these small technical shifts make a massive difference — empowering teams to focus more on organizing, and less on chasing down details.
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The “Take Action” Page: Where Volunteers Find Their Place
If “Who We Are” celebrates the people already involved, the “Take Action” page is about inviting new people in.
We completely restructured this section to highlight the core volunteer teams — Precinct Organizers, Women’s Group, Veterans Group, Communications, Outreach, Fundraising, and Office Volunteers. Each group now has a short, approachable description and a clear call-to-action for joining or learning more.
For example:
“The Communications Team informs, motivates, and engages with Democrats and the Mesa County public by communicating consistent messaging and branding across a variety of media.”
Every team page features updated contact info, group leads, and quotes or photos that bring the work to life. The “Sign Up” buttons are now properly routed to volunteer forms, not generic donation links, ensuring users reach the right place on their first click.
The design of this page emphasizes community — with alternating color blocks, dynamic tiles, and plenty of space for visuals from past events. It’s a page designed to feel both motivating and achievable.
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News & Events: Keeping the Community Informed
The old Mesa County Democrats website had limited functionality for sharing updates, which often meant news went out primarily through Facebook or email. The new site changes that by integrating a full blog and events system through Wix’s native tools.
The News & Events section now includes:
• Upcoming Events with calendar integration and downloadable fliers.
• Past Events archives for historical reference.
• Blog posts for news stories, opinion pieces, and updates.
• Newsletter Archive linking to Mailchimp’s campaign history for easy access to past issues.
Visitors can now easily read about fundraisers, candidate meetups, protests, and local election updates — all from one central hub.
We also introduced category tags (“Events,” “News,” “Newsletter”) that help readers find what they’re looking for at a glance. Whether it’s a press release or a rally invitation, the new layout turns content into a living archive of the party’s ongoing work in the valley.
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Elections Hub: One-Stop Voter Resource
Voter education is one of the most vital roles of any county party website, and the Elections section was built to make that information easy to find and understand.
The page is divided into four clear categories:
1. Voter Information: registration links, ballot tracking, and precinct maps.
2. Candidates: full listings of Democratic candidates with bios, headshots, and official campaign links.
3. Propositions and Ballot Measures: explanatory text, deadlines, and updates for upcoming cycles.
4. Run for Something: resources for those considering a run for office or volunteer board service.
We paid special attention to accessibility here — including descriptive alt text for candidate images, larger buttons for mobile users, and “back-to-top” links to help users move smoothly between sections.
Even more importantly, we designed it to evolve. As the 2026 election approaches, this section can easily expand to include new candidates, ballot guides, and voter registration campaigns without requiring a full redesign.
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Visual Identity: A Color Story Rooted in Mesa County
Every great website has a color story — and this one is uniquely Western Slope.
The Mesa County Democrats wanted a look that felt bold, grounded, and local, without drifting into overly corporate or national tones. We started with the party’s existing navy blue as the foundation and paired it with a deep burnt orange accent inspired by the hues of Mount Garfield and the red rock canyons that surround the Grand Valley.
These colors now define buttons, hover states, and section dividers across the site — subtle but intentional touches that tie every page together. The photo banners feature real Mesa County landscapes: farmers markets, vineyards, Fruita’s cycling trails, Palisade’s downtown charm, and the Colorado National Monument at sunset.
The result is a palette that feels like home — uniquely Western, yet unmistakably Democratic.
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Fine-Tuning Functionality and Accessibility
No website rebuild is complete without rounds of polishing, and this project was no exception.
Throughout the process, I collaborated closely with the Communications Team and the Executive Committee, to refine dozens of small details that make a big difference in user experience.
Some examples:
• Carousel speed was reduced from 5 seconds to 8 seconds for better readability.
• All buttons were updated to a 3D style for improved visibility and clickability.
• Image cropping was corrected across leadership carousels to keep everyone fully visible.
• Text contrasts were checked for ADA compliance on both light and dark backgrounds.
• Underlines on links were removed and replaced with color shifts for a cleaner visual.
We also corrected several back-end issues — broken links, inconsistent redirects, and duplicate menu anchors — to make the user journey smooth from start to finish.
Each small refinement contributed to a site that doesn’t just look professional, but feels professional in every interaction.
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Collaboration & Community Feedback
What made this project truly special was the collaboration behind it. The Mesa County Democrats are powered by volunteers, and the rebuild process was no different — it was a team effort that reflected the same grassroots energy that defines local organizing.
Once the beta version of the site was ready, I created a password-protected preview for the Executive Committee and District Precinct Organizers to review. Over the following week, the team provided dozens of thoughtful notes — from photo swaps and bio corrections to hover color preferences and font readability tweaks.
Every suggestion, no matter how small, came from a place of pride and ownership. The review period wasn’t just about catching typos — it was about ensuring the site truly represented their community.
As one committee member said during our review meeting,
“This isn’t just our website — it’s our front door. It’s where people decide if they feel welcome.”
That statement became the guiding principle for our final round of edits.
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Site Rebuild Launch Day: A New Digital Era
After a couple of months of building, editing, and refining, we were ready to launch. The site went live in early October — just in time for the 2025–2026 election season to ramp up.
The response was overwhelmingly positive. Visitors praised the cleaner design, faster loading times, and the ease of finding key information like volunteer opportunities and candidate links.
The Mesa County Democrats now have:
• A cohesive digital identity aligned with their values and geography.
• A functional content management system their volunteers can update easily.
• A structure that will support growth for years to come.
And most importantly, a website that encourages civic engagement with every click — whether that’s signing up to volunteer, attending an event, or donating to the cause.
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Looking Ahead
The new website is more than a digital facelift — it’s a long-term investment in communication and community building. With clear navigation, better tools, and a solid content framework, the Mesa County Democrats are now positioned to reach more voters, engage more volunteers, and amplify more local voices than ever before.
In the months ahead, the team plans to:
• Add a Shop page for local merch and fundraising.
• Expand the Run for Something resources for future candidates.
• Continue featuring local stories and newsletters to keep the community informed.
• Use the blog system as a hub for ongoing updates and political education.
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Final Thoughts
When I began this project, I knew we’d be creating more than just a website — we’d be shaping a tool for civic participation and local pride.
Every color, every button, every paragraph of copy was chosen with one goal in mind: to help people feel connected to democracy right here in Mesa County.
The Mesa County Democrats’ new website isn’t just functional — it’s a reflection of a movement that’s local, inclusive, and forward-thinking. It’s proof that even with limited resources, collaboration and creativity can build something that truly represents a community’s heart.
To the entire Executive Committee, Precinct Organizers, and volunteers who contributed their photos, bios, and feedback: thank you. This project belongs to you.
And to anyone reading this — I hope you’ll take a moment to visit the site, explore what we’ve built together, and maybe even click one of those three little buttons at the top:
DONATE. REGISTER TO VOTE.
Because democracy starts with action — and it starts right here at home.
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