Website Refresh Strategy & Homepage Mock-up
Overview
Meeting between Mark Hope (Asymmetric) and Jolie Hope (Three Gaits) to plan a full website rebuild. The conversation moved quickly from a modest content refresh to a strategic redesign grounded in emotional storytelling, with an AI-generated homepage mock-up produced live during the call as the primary deliverable and starting point.
Attendees: Jolie Hope (jolie@three-gaits.org) · Mark Hope (mark.hope@asymmetric.pro)
Date: 2026-04-05
Strategic Goals
Two primary objectives drive the entire redesign:
- Recruit participants — attract individuals and families who can benefit from Three Gaits programs
- Raise funds — convert donors and sustain operations
Both goals depend on the same underlying mechanism: emotional connection to the riders and the mission. The current site fails to build that connection before asking for action.
Key Decisions
1. Full Rebuild, Not a Refresh
The scope expanded from updating content to a complete rebuild. Existing page URLs will be preserved to protect SEO rankings, but the site will be rebuilt from scratch in JavaScript rather than maintained in WordPress.
Rationale: JavaScript is faster, lighter, and eliminates plugin maintenance overhead. The AI-generated prototype already produced working code during the meeting.
2. Content-First Messaging Framework
Jolie will not write final copy. Instead, she will produce a per-page messaging brief for each page using the see / think / feel / do framework:
| Dimension | Question |
|---|---|
| See | What visual impression should the page make? |
| Feel | What emotional response should it trigger? |
| Think | What should the visitor believe after reading? |
| Do | What is the desired call-to-action? |
This gives designers creative latitude while keeping messaging intentional. Pages to brief: Homepage, Programs, Volunteer (at minimum).
3. AI-Generated Homepage Mock-up as Starting Point
An AI tool analyzed the current Three Gaits site against the Hearts & Horses site (heartsandhorses.org), identified gaps, and generated a full homepage prototype — including HTML/CSS code — live during the call.
Gaps identified (Hearts & Horses strengths Three Gaits lacks):
- Emotional immediacy: video hero, participant stories with faces
- Clear dual conversion architecture: "Participate" and "Give" as equal-weight paths
- Social proof infrastructure: impact stats, accreditations, press mentions
Mock-up features produced:
- Tagline: "Where healing finds its stride" (works on two levels: literal horse gaits + therapeutic journey)
- Dual CTAs: Explore Programs / Give Today
- Content flow: Mission → Science → Family Stories → Giving (earns emotional permission before the ask)
- "Amber band" credibility strip: 30 years · 200 riders · 12,000 volunteer hours
- Volunteer section: photo stack with stat badge + link to full volunteer page
- Color palette: deep forest green, warm amber, cream — warm and mission-driven, deliberately differentiated from "corporate blue"
4. Logo & Color Compatibility
Jolie noted the existing logo uses blue and bright green. Resolution: use the white version of the logo on either a white or green nav bar. No logo redesign needed.
5. JavaScript Over WordPress
The rebuild will use JavaScript (same stack as the Asymmetric site rebuild currently in progress). Faster, lighter, no plugin issues. The AI prototype already generated deployable code.
Media Asset Plan
Immediate (use existing footage)
Slice the following videos into 20–30 second coherent clips for use across the new site:
- "Riding in the Moment" video
- Capital Campaign video
Mark will locate the files and send to Wukash for editing. Jolie will send the capital campaign file if Mark cannot locate it.
Note: Jolie prefers a static hero image at the top (video slows page load) with a video clip placed lower on the page, near the giving section.
Future (commission new B-roll)
Once weather permits, commission a videographer to shoot ~2 hours of unscripted B-roll:
- Kids riding and mounting horses
- Horses in pasture, leaving stalls
- Drone footage of the property
B-roll is cost-effective and provides a flexible, reusable media library for the site, social, and future campaigns. Cinematic/interview-style production is not needed for this shoot.
Action Items
- [ ] Jolie — Review the published homepage prototype; provide feedback on layout, content, and specific image/video placements (@Jolie Hope)
- [ ] Jolie — Draft per-page messaging briefs (see / think / feel / do) for Homepage, Programs, and Volunteer pages (@Jolie Hope)
- [ ] Mark — Locate "Riding in the Moment" and Capital Campaign video files; send to Wukash with instructions to cut 20–30s coherent clips (@Mark Hope)
- [ ] Mark — Revise homepage mock-up based on Jolie's feedback, then send to design team for formal design concepts (@Mark Hope)
Transcript Excerpts
On the content-first approach:
Mark: "There's a step above that. Don't worry about the detailed copy. Worry about the message. What is the message you want to deliver on this page? What do you want somebody to see? What do you want them to feel? What do you want them to think? … The problem is everybody jumps right to the content — it'd be like writing a book by just sitting down and starting the first paragraph."
On the AI gap analysis:
Mark: "The gap is significant. Hearts and Horses nails three things that Three Gaits lacks: emotional immediacy — video hero, participant stories with faces; clear dual conversion architecture — participate/give as equal weight paths; and social proof infrastructure — impact stats, accreditations, and press."
On the content flow logic:
Mark: "The current Three Gaits site asks for donations before it's earned emotional permission. This version leads with the mission, then the science, then the family, then the giving. By the time someone reaches the give section, they believe in it."
On the color palette:
Mark: "I like these dark browns and greens — they seem earthy and trustworthy. Most websites are blue. Everybody's blue. The design direction — deep forest green, warm amber, and cream — differentiates from Hearts & Horses' cleaner corporate palette while feeling appropriately warm and mission-driven."
On the video placement:
Jolie: "I love the idea that Hearts & Horses has the video. I don't love the fact that it's right at the top — it slows the website down a lot. I feel like having an image where you are now, and maybe just finding a spot for a video clip down below, maybe by the give button or something like that, would be great."
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