Corporate Website System for the AWO Mittelrhein Network
Corporate Website System for the AWO Mittelrhein Network
AWO Bezirksverband Mittelrhein – one of the six leading associations of free welfare – stands for social diversity and social engagement. The AWO Network Corporate Website System translates this diversity into a digital structure: four independent units, shared building blocks, one CMS. The AWO Mittelrhein web platform brings together the umbrella brand, Migration Support Services, WohnBau and GESA—technically unified while retaining their individual visual identities.
Customer
Industry
Performance
Period
CMS
AWO Mittelrhein
Social service
Corporate Website
Information Architecture
UX/UI Design
CMS System Setup
Backend Training
Rollout
Ongoing Maintenance
2020-2026
REDAXO
Workshops
CMS
Corporate websites
Editors
Roles
Training Sessions
One CMS. Shared Building Blocks. Four Independent Presences.
All four units of the network run on a shared REDAXO instance. They share the same page structures, the same components and the same navigation structure – and yet each appears with a visually independent presence. No fragmentation. No four parallel systems. Instead, one platform that enables consistency and independence simultaneously.
Each unit addresses different people: The AWO Mittelrhein parent brand targets senior citizens and people in need of care, families with children, volunteers and members, applicants as well as politicians and multipliers from the social sector. The Migration Support Service reaches people seeking counselling with a history of immigration in up to seven languages. AWO WohnBau communicates with prospective tenants and partners from the housing sector. AWO GESA addresses people in need of care, relatives and applicants for approximately 1,800 positions in care. Different target groups, different tonalities – the same technical foundation.
A Shared Foundation Developed for the Entire Network
At the outset, the values and goals of AWO Mittelrhein were clearly defined in two workshops, and the fundamental tonality as well as the new website architecture were developed together. All content was subsequently recorded in a digital working document and served as the foundation for all further steps.
Website architecture
A central component of the future strategic direction was the comprehensive mapping and structuring of AWO Mittelrhein’s specialist areas and their services within the new website. The results were recorded in a final structural document and formed the foundation for each of the new websites.
One Platform. Rethought Four Times.
The system did not emerge all at once. The AWO Mittelrhein parent brand and the Migration Support Services were realised together as the first units on the REDAXO platform – with an architecture designed for expandability from the very beginning. AWO WohnBau subsequently built on the same building blocks, with an architecture-inspired formal language that clearly integrates into the AWO cosmos while still appearing independent. AWO GESA followed last – with the largest project scope to date: 16 facilities, 68 subpages, nine shooting days, a modular design system.
Each unit brought its own requirements, its own target groups, its own visual tonality. The platform absorbed this – without needing to be reinvented.
Consistent in the System.
Distinctive in Appearance.
The system provides the framework. What emerges within this framework is an individual design decision for each unit – colour spectrum, formal language, illustration style, tonality. All four presences share the same essential characteristics while still leaving room for individual independence.
AWO Mittelrhein
AWO Migration Support Services
AWO WohnBau
AWO GESA
Website Showcase
Independently Manageable from Day One
In addition, the CMS backend was designed and structured so that people without technical expertise can independently handle basic tasks – from embedding news and events to adjusting content and building new subpages. In four training sessions, the full range of functions and example workflows were implemented together. Eight roles with clearly defined rights and responsibilities were established – enabling eleven editors across all four units to work independently and without mutual dependency.
Structure, Templates and SEO Foundations Built into the System.
In addition, templates for one-pagers and campaigns are stored in the backend – ready to use without agency involvement. Page structure, URLs and metadata follow SEO principles that can be applied directly in the backend. The internal newsletter of AWO Mittelrhein is published entirely via the AWO Mittelrhein web platform and has replaced the previous print edition in the interest of sustainability.
A System that Grows.
With each new unit, new modules and components have been created – developed for the specific needs of one unit, but built from the outset so that all others can benefit from them. Because the system does not grow despite its units – it grows through them.
Accessibility as a System Component – Not an Afterthought.
For the AWO network platform, CRENEO developed the BarrierFree tool – a widget that enables visitors to adjust the display of the website to their individual needs: font size, contrast, reading aids and further settings can be controlled directly via the interface. BarrierFree is therefore firmly integrated into all four units of the platform – as a shared building block that ensures low-barrier accessibility system-wide rather than solving it unit by unit.
The System in Practice
Disciplines
Corporate Website
Information Architecture
UX/UI Design
CMS Setup
Backend – Training
Rollout
Ongoing Maintenance
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