Charity Archives | Kate Williamson | WordPress & Squarespace Designer

The Bay Trust

Kate Williamson — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 16:38:05 +0000

The Bay Trust

Branding, Charity, Creative, SEO, Website Design, WordPress

The Brief

The Bay Trust is an environmental education charity based in St. Margaret’s Bay, Kent, offering learning through nature experiences at the stunning Pines Gardens site. Their existing WordPress website hadn’t been updated or managed in a few years and needed a refresh to better reflect their eco-friendly mission and improve accessibility for the wide range of visitors they welcome; from school groups to holiday guests and venue hire clients.

Research & Approach

I visited the Bay Trust for an in-person discussion and reviewed the existing webstite alongside comparable charity and education organisations across Kent to identify where the user experience was falling short. Key issues included unclear navigation between the trust’s different offerings; learning programmes, venue hire at The Pines Calyx, public cafe & gardens, and accommodation options on AirBnB – and a visual identity that didn’t reflect the quality of the site itself. This informed a redesign focused on intuitive structure and a nature-inspired aesthetic that feels true to Kent’s coastal landscape.

Design & Build

Working in Elementor, I redesigned the site around a warm, natural colour palette with clear pathways for each audience. Whether someone is looking to book a school visit, hire The Pines Calyx for an event, or explore accommodation, they can find what they need quickly. Accessibility was a priority throughout – the site meets WCAG AA standards, supporting the charity’s inclusive approach to environmental education and ensuring it works for everyone.

The Result

The refreshed site captures The Bay Trust’s deep connection to the Kent coastline while doing a much better job of driving enquiries and bookings through clear calls to action and streamlined user journeys. For a charity juggling multiple audiences and offerings, having a website that handles that complexity simply is essential.

Client: The Bay Trust
Year: 2023 -2025
Sector: Charity
Location: East Kent
Website: www.thebaytrust.org.uk

Looking for a web designer who understands the charity sector in Kent? I specialise in WordPress websites for charities, small businesses, and creative industries – combining beautiful design with strong SEO foundations and accessibility best practices. Get in touch to discuss your project.

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Funding For All

Kate Williamson — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 23:41:43 +0000

Funding For All

Branding, Charity, SEO, Website Design, WordPress

The Brief

Funding For All is a charity dedicated to empowering voluntary & community organisations across Kent and Medway. They provide free fundraising mentoring, training, funding advice surgeries and online resources to small charities, voluntary groups, community organisations, and social enterprises. They’ve supported over 1,000 organisations through their mentorship scheme to date.

They originally got in touch about website training, hoping to gain some better in-house skills to be able to develop their own site on a smaller budget. However, after discussing the state of their existing site, the board decided a full redesign and rebuild was the better investment.

Research & Approach

The existing site had a dated look, which is often the case with small charities when financial investment is scarce! The structure didn’t reflect the span of what the charity offers – from one-to-one mentoring and bid writing support to events, training sessions, and a searchable funding database.

I reviewed the site alongside similar support organisations to identify where the user experience needed the most attention, with clearer navigation, massively improved search functionality, and a refreshed visual identity coming out as the key priorities.

Design & Build

The redesign introduced a bold, confident use of colour and geometric shapes – inspired by and expanding on the original branding. Refreshed (free) stock imagery was chosen to represent the diversity of communities that Funding For All supports, from arts and culture organisations to youth groups, sports clubs, and social enterprises across the county.

The WordPress site was built with accessibility for the audience and team at its core, ensuring the funding database search tool works intuitively for all audiences. Key integrations include Eventbrite for their training and events calendar and Mailchimp for newsletter communications, giving the small team a joined-up system for managing bookings and staying connected with their network across Kent and Medway.

The Result

The new site gives Funding For All a dynamic, accessible online presence that properly represents the scale and impact of their work. The funding database is genuinely easy to use, event bookings are streamlined, and the refreshed branding communicates the charity’s reach across the county far more effectively.

Client: Funding For All
Year: 2022 – 2026 (ongoing development)
Sector: Charity
Area: Kent & Medway
Website: www.fundingforall.org.uk

"The project wouldn't have been possible without the expertise and creativity of Kate. She is a joy to work with and completely understood our brief, our audience, our needs and the charity sector.”

Lottie Coombes, Funding For All

Looking for a web designer who understands the startup sector in Kent? I specialise in WordPress websites for charities, small businesses, and creative industries – combining beautiful design with strong SEO foundations and accessibility best practices. Get in touch to discuss your project.

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Margate Creative Land Trust

Kate Williamson — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:25:32 +0000

Margate Creative Land Trust

Business, Charity, Creative, Website Design, WordPress

The Project

We were the winning bid for the website design and branding of the Margate Creative Land Trust, a new charity established in 2022 as part of the Margate Town Deal funding. The trust was set up to create stability in the private rental market for artist studios and practice spaces, and to provide affordable creative workspace in the area, protecting Margate’s artistic community for the future.

Branding

The brand was created in collaboration with young designer Lily Headley, recommended through Arts Education Exchange, a local youth education charity. Lily’s concept used the shapes and patterns of Ordnance Survey maps as a starting point; a nod to land, place, and the trust’s mission to secure physical space. This was developed into a full visual identity where bold colours, cutout shapes, and dotted lines intersect with imagery of local artists, capturing both the energy of Margate’s creative scene and the trust’s roots in the town’s geography.

Website Design & Build

The WordPress site was designed to serve two audiences – the local creative community looking for workspace opportunities, news, and resources, and the funders and stakeholders behind the trust’s Town Deal backing. Clear navigation, an accessible layout, and a strong news and opportunities section keep the site functional as both a public-facing hub and a credible platform for funding bids and partnership outreach.

The brand has since evolved as the trust’s focus has shifted, but the original design and identity set the creative foundation the organisation launched from.

Client: Margate Creative Land Trust
Location: Margate
Sector: Charity & Property
Year: 2022 – 2025
Website: margatecreativelandtrust.org

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Humanitarian Leadership Academy

Kate Williamson — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:59:56 +0000

Humanitarian Leadership Academy

Charity, Management, Website Design, WordPress

We started working with Humanitarian Leadership Academy back in 2017, initially to build the website formally designed by London based agency Idea Is Everything.

The Humanitarian Leadership Academy is a global learning initiative in the Save The Children family, enabling people to prepare for and respond to crises in their own countries.

Over the years, we have continued to develop the website as the charity expanded and required new content and practical scope.

Client: Humanitarian Leadership Academy
Year: 2017 – 2023
Website: www.humanitarianleadershipacademy.org

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