Animar Association´s website in Joomla: sober, but dynamic

The website of Animar – Portuguese Association for Local Development was developed in Joomla by Grow Under professionals.

In the context of redefining the graphic identity of Animar - Portuguese Association for Local Development –, this Public Utility entity delivered to Grow Under the responsibility to design and implement its new website in Joomla - https://animar-dl.pt/.

Animar: a Public Utility entity

Animar – Portuguese Association for Local Development is a collaborative structure that brings together social intervention and local development organizations, representing about 100 institutions across the country and over 100 individual members. Therefore, it has a large volume of data in its possession, which justifies the focus on Joomla, a very robust Content Management System (CMS) with high availability to accommodate big doses of information.

The Association activity is, above all, recognized in the social and solidarity economy´s areas, and in the rural and local development, and in the socio-territorial innovation. Events such as MANIFesta, the most important local and rural development fair in Portugal, the Country Interior Forum, and the Roadmap for Citizenship and Equality are the dynamic traces, and the Public Utility character that this site in Joomla intended to illustrate.

The Mission: institutional, but irreverent website in Joomla

As part of the renewal of the graphic identity of Animar, Grow Under was delivered the mission to also instil a new look on its new website with the choice of Joomla CMS as a requirement. The goal was to develop a Joomla website to illustrate the institutional profile, but at the same time to assure it “had a touch of irreverence”.

Thus, it would have to present a modern and more appealing design, yet sober, also ensuring greater visibility to the numerous initiatives undertaken by the Association. And so, enhancing their social relevance, and reinforcing its role as the motor of local development.

The project was to create a new image based on the Joomla CMS customization capabilities, but maintaining Animar´s values, and a 24-year-old memory.

Joomla CMS, and the Restricted Area Restructuration

In the implementation phase of the project it was necessary to redefine the website design, combining Animar´s new image with its new logo. The institutional nature of the page was taken into account in this redefinition, giving the Association´s relevant content its deserved prominent place. But at the same time, the desired touch of dynamism and irreverence were instilled, with the focus on appealing colours, and a modern layout - features that Joomla offers in various conjugations.

To allow easy access to content, it was imperative to organize the entire structure of menus, sub-menus, articles, and categories. The best web design practices were considered, meeting the main criteria of usability and navigability, in order to render an easier, and more accessible, visitor´s experience.

This Joomla website development also went through the restructuring of the Reserved Area, with the importation and integration of Animar's vast content database. In addition, contact forms were created, and an agenda of events was included, allowing to follow the Association's initiatives.

The project also included the research ´s enhancement, and the integration of a public voting system in order to collect the visitors´ opinions about the most interesting items.