Website Staging Review & Content Strategy — 2026-04-05

Overview

Staging site walkthrough with VCEDC (Kathy Schmitz, Tracey Pilsner) and AAG team (Melissa Cusumano, Isalia Ramirez, Mark Hope). The meeting focused on reviewing the current state of the WordPress build, aligning on a content workflow, and resolving open questions around video hosting and page structure. Next meeting rescheduled to Monday, Nov 10 at 1:00 PM to accommodate Kathy's Nov 13 wrist surgery.

Attendees:
- Kathy Schmitz — VCEDC (kathy@vilascountyedc.org)
- Tracey Pilsner — VCEDC (traceypilsner@gmail.com)
- Melissa Cusumano — AAG
- Isalia Ramirez — AAG
- Mark Hope — AAG

Key Decisions

Staging Site Issues Identified

Homepage

• Pixelated hero image — must be replaced with a higher-resolution alternative
• Footer gradient too dark — lighten per Jim's feedback
• Redundant section — "Your Key to Vilas County Growth" to be removed
• Navigation label — "Business Expansion" must read "Business Success"
• Responsiveness — layout breaks at certain screen widths; developer is working on it

Broadband Page

• Add Incredible Bank logo as a grantor

Events Page

• Add Associated Bank logo as a grantor
• Remove ConvertKit/Kit logo (appearing due to a form integration; should not be visible)

Donate Page

• Integrate Stripe plugin for direct donations (expected to be free; fallback is a button linking to Stripe externally)

Leadership / About

• Roger's photo — current submissions are low-res and not acceptable; professional photo still needed
• Jim Tuckwell — featured as Board Chair in several media clips (WXPR, Channel 12); these stay live through year-end, then replaced as new chair takes over

Content & Copy Strategy

Core goal: The site must clearly answer "What do you do?" and drive users to contact VCEDC (form, phone, email). Kathy noted this is the most common gap — visitors leave without understanding the services offered.

Workflow agreed:
1. Melissa sends Word documents for each page by EOD Nov 1, including placeholder CTA links for all buttons
2. Kathy rewrites copy in the Word docs, using the staging site open alongside as a visual guide
3. Updated docs returned to AAG for implementation

Copy notes from review:
- Homepage headline candidate: "Grow Your Business with Vilas County EDC — Love Where You Live"
- Navigation label: "Start or Grow a Business" (not just "Start a Business")
- Placeholder lorem ipsum still present on several pages — will be replaced via Word doc process

Video Hosting Strategy

The SiteCast Situation (Resolved)

There was confusion about whether the SiteCast page was connected to the new website. It is not.

• SiteCast is a separate, licensed landing page Brad created that pulls VCEDC's YouTube playlists into a branded interface. It is paid through end of year and will then be discontinued.
• It has never been linked to or from the VCEDC website.
• All videos already live on the VCEDC YouTube channel. The SiteCast page simply re-displayed them.

Going Forward

• All videos on the new site will be embedded from YouTube (not hosted directly on the server)
• Rationale: Direct video hosting causes slow load times in Vilas County's low-bandwidth environment; YouTube handles delivery efficiently
• Old/outdated videos on YouTube can be set to "Unlisted" — they disappear from the public channel feed but existing links remain functional
• AAG now has access to the VCEDC YouTube channel; Tracey to confirm full back-end access is granted

Events & Past Programs Page Structure

Decision: Split events content into two distinct areas:

The Events page will include a one-line link: "To watch previous VCEDC programming, click here" pointing to the Past Programs page.

Rationale: Mixing upcoming and past events on one page creates confusion. A dedicated Past Programs page can grow indefinitely without requiring cleanup, and keeps the Events page action-oriented.

Action Items

AAG — Melissa Cusumano

• [ ] Send page-by-page Word docs with proposed CTA links to Kathy & Tracey — due EOD Nov 1
• [ ] Replace pixelated homepage hero image with higher-res alternative
• [ ] Lighten homepage banner gradient per Jim's feedback
• [ ] Fix navigation: "Business Expansion" → "Business Success"
• [ ] Address responsiveness issues across pages
• [ ] Add Incredible Bank logo to Broadband page
• [ ] Add Associated Bank logo to Events page; remove ConvertKit/Kit logo
• [ ] Integrate Stripe donation plugin on Donate page
• [ ] Create Past Programs page; add link from Events page; embed VCEDC YouTube recordings
• [ ] Update VCEDC YouTube: set outdated videos to Unlisted; update channel banner
• [ ] Send calendar invite for Mon Nov 10 1:00 PM meeting to Kathy & Tracey

VCEDC — Kathy Schmitz

• [ ] Rewrite all website copy in the Word docs provided by Melissa
• [ ] Provide Roger's professional, high-res headshot

VCEDC — Tracey Pilsner

• [ ] Confirm AAG has full back-end access to the VCEDC YouTube channel
• [ ] Update shared spreadsheet with Google Docs links
• [ ] Set up ConvertKit email marketing integration with Melissa

Next Meeting

Monday, November 10 at 1:00 PM
(Moved from Nov 13 due to Kathy's wrist surgery)

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