wiki/clients/current/vcedc/2025-12-02-website-pre-launch-review.md · 896 words · 2026-04-05

VCEDC Website — Pre-Launch Review Meeting (2025-12-02)

Overview

Pre-launch review meeting for the VCEDC website, targeting a December 15 go-live. The team worked through outstanding content and design decisions page by page, resolved several open questions, and established a clear review process and timeline for the final stretch. Attendees included Melissa Cusumano and Isalia Ramirez (AAG/Asymmetric), Kathy Schmitz and Tracey Pilsner (VCEDC).

Source: Fathom recording

Key Decisions

Topic	Decision
Hero image	Use the tighter, cropped photo of Kathy and Tracey — removes distracting hallway background
Navigation: "Business Success"	Rename to "Success Stories" — more descriptive and layman-friendly; retains dropdown for sub-pages
Navigation: "Events and Program"	Pluralize to "Events and Programs"
Events page placeholder content	Remove placeholder events; add message: "Check back for upcoming events or sign up for email notifications"
Events page cleanup	Remove duplicate "Get news from Vilas County EDC" form and "Built with Kit" footer branding
Donate page payment options	Must include three options in order: Mail a check → PayPal → Stripe
Board bio — Emerson Coy	No photo or bio available; remove "Learn More" link, display name and title only
Annual Reports layout	Update to tile-based layout per report; 2022 report is a video (not a PDF) — treat accordingly
"Living in Vilas County" page	Fix typo "country" → "county"; add 1–2 winter-themed photos
Lifestyle photo (new, from Kathy)	Place on "Living in Vilas County" page if not used elsewhere
Review process	Kathy consolidates all feedback in the Google Doc tracker; "Ready for Review" column signals AAG can finalize; Kathy marks pages "Approved" or adds edits in "Final Review" column
Board communication framing	Kathy will present the Dec 12 link to the board as "98–99% complete" — minor refinements may follow launch

Action Items

Kathy (VCEDC)

[ ] Consolidate all feedback into the Google Doc tracker — deadline: EOW Dec 5
[ ] Write homepage copy for the "Remote Worker" section
[ ] Send YouTube video links for the "Success Stories" page
[ ] Provide press releases for Dec 12 announcements (new board chair Kate Farrell; Business of the Year — Andy's Pontoon Saloon)
[ ] Update Google Doc with final board bios

Tracey (VCEDC)

[ ] Upscale and provide high-resolution logos for featured businesses on the Success Stories page

AAG (Asymmetric)

[ ] Implement all approved changes: hero image crop, navigation renames, events page cleanup, donate page payment options, board bio fix, Annual Reports tile layout, "Living in Vilas County" typo and photos
[ ] Investigate and fix broken PayPal link on Donate page (may be a pre-launch environment issue)
[ ] Update video static/thumbnail images on homepage to match the correct YouTube videos
[ ] Clean up resolved comments in the Google Doc tracker
[ ] Deliver near-final review link to Kathy — deadline: Dec 12
[ ] Conduct full site-wide test with fresh eyes (including Mark) before launch

Timeline

Date	Milestone
Dec 5 (EOW)	Kathy completes feedback consolidation in Google Doc
Dec 12	AAG delivers near-final link; Kathy shares with VCEDC board
Dec 15	Target go-live
Jan 2	Board chair transition (Jim → Kate Farrell) reflected on site

Page-by-Page Notes

Homepage

Hero image: replace current grainy photo with tighter crop of Kathy and Tracey (hallway removed)
Navigation bar: rename "Business Success" → "Success Stories"; pluralize "Events and Program" → "Events and Programs"
Remote Worker section: needs copy from Kathy
Video thumbnails: update static images to match the correct YouTube videos (links already embedded correctly)

Events and Programs

Remove all placeholder/past events
Add placeholder message: "Check back for upcoming events or sign up for email notifications"
Remove duplicate newsletter signup form
Remove "Built with Kit" footer attribution

Success Stories

Kathy to provide YouTube video links for the full page
Tracey to provide upscaled, high-resolution business logos

Donate

Confirm three payment options present and ordered: Mail a check, PayPal, Stripe
PayPal link currently broken — investigate whether this is a staging environment issue or a configuration error

About Us / Board Bios

Bios to be updated in Google Doc first, then pushed to site in one pass
Emerson Coy: display name and title only; remove "Learn More" link

Annual Reports

Update layout to tile format (one tile per year)
2022 report is a video — no PDF expected; handle accordingly
Kathy may drop 2021 report from the page in a future update

Living in Vilas County

Fix typo: "country" → "county"
Add 1–2 winter-themed photos
New lifestyle photo from Kathy is a candidate for this page

Upcoming Announcements (Dec 12)

New board chair: Kate Farrell (effective January 1; Jim remains chair through Dec 31)
Business of the Year: Andy's Pontoon Saloon — press release + plaque presentation photo can go live before Dec 15

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Sources

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