Back & Better Than Ever: Rebuilding the PDXWIT Website from the Ground Up
A full website rebuild for Portland Women in Technology — bringing a returning grassroots community back online with a refreshed brand, a modern WordPress build, and a community-first experience designed to grow.
Overview
A community returning to the web — stronger, clearer, and ready to grow.
Portland Women in Technology had been off the grid for a while. When new leadership relaunched the organization in 2026, they needed more than just a website — they needed a digital home that could support an active community, communicate their mission clearly, and scale as the group grew back to full strength.
I built the new PDXWIT website on WordPress from scratch, applying a refreshed version of the original brand identity I designed in 2017–2019. The result is a fast, community-focused site with event management, a clean content architecture, and a visual system that honors where PDXWIT came from while looking firmly toward where it's going.
The Problem
No website. No presence. No way for the community to find them.
When PDXWIT relaunched, there was no digital infrastructure to support it. No website, no event system, no way for potential members to learn about the organization or find upcoming events. The challenge was building something that could go live quickly, handle real community needs from day one, and be maintainable by a small volunteer team without a dedicated developer on call.
Key Decisions
What I decided, and why.
WordPress for maintainability, not just flexibility
With a small volunteer team and no dedicated developer, the platform needed to be something non-technical contributors could manage confidently. WordPress with The Events Calendar plugin gave us a robust, familiar CMS that the team could own without needing me on call for every update.
Evolve the original brand, don't replace it
The 2017–2019 PDXWIT brand had equity and recognition in the community. Rather than starting from scratch, I refreshed the identity — refining the logo, updating the color system for digital accessibility, and modernizing the typography — so the organization felt renewed without feeling unrecognizable.
Events first — everything else supports discovery
For a community group, events are the primary reason someone visits the site. The navigation, homepage layout, and content hierarchy were all designed to surface upcoming events immediately and reduce friction from landing to registration. Everything else — About, Blog, Contact — supports that core journey.
The Brand Revisit
Honoring the original while building for what's next.
The 2017–2019 PDXWIT brand was built to last — and it did. Seven years later, the core identity still had life in it. The revisit focused on refining for digital-first use: improving color contrast for accessibility, sharpening the logo for high-resolution screens, and updating the type system for web performance. The result feels like a natural evolution, not a departure.
Updated Logo System
2026 RefreshThe mountain mark was refined for crisp rendering across all screen sizes — from mobile favicon to desktop header. Color relationships were preserved while improving contrast ratios for WCAG compliance.
Color & Typography for Web
2026 RefreshThe deep purple palette was retained and extended with digital-safe values. Typography was updated to web-optimized Google Fonts equivalents that preserved the character of the original system while improving load performance.
"Placeholder quote from PDXWIT founder about the relaunch, the brand, or the community."
Kellyn Pot'Gorman — PDXWITThe Pages
Every page with a purpose.
The site was architected around a clear user journey — discover the community, find events, learn more, get involved. Each page plays a specific role in that flow, designed to reduce friction and build trust at every step.
Homepage
WordPress Custom ThemeThe homepage establishes PDXWIT's mission immediately and surfaces upcoming events without requiring any extra navigation. A featured event block, upcoming events list, and community CTA give visitors everything they need to take action on the first visit.
Events
WordPress The Events CalendarThe events system is the heart of the site. Built on The Events Calendar plugin, it supports multiple event types, category filtering, and individual event detail pages — all styled to match the PDXWIT brand. Events can be added and managed entirely by volunteers through the WordPress dashboard.
About
WordPressThe about page communicates PDXWIT's mission, values, and community story — building credibility and trust for first-time visitors while reinforcing belonging for returning members. Clear, warm, and purposefully concise.
Contact
WordPressA clean, low-friction contact page for sponsor inquiries, speaker submissions, and general community questions. Designed to be approachable rather than formal — reflecting PDXWIT's community-first personality.
The System
Built to be owned by the community, not just the designer.
A volunteer-maintained site lives or dies by how easy it is to update. The PDXWIT WordPress build was designed with non-technical contributors in mind — reusable page templates, a documented component system, and an event management workflow that anyone on the team can operate without touching code.
Reusable Components
WordPress Custom ThemePage sections were built as modular, reusable blocks — hero areas, event cards, community CTAs, and content rows — so new pages can be assembled without custom development work.
What's Coming
RoadmapThe site launched with a clear roadmap of community features in active development — a job board, mentorship matching, speaker submissions, dark mode, and more. The architecture was built to accommodate these additions without requiring a full rebuild.
Outcomes
What this work delivered.
Homepage, Events, About, Contact, and Blog — all live, branded, and maintainable by the volunteer team from day one.
Meetups, workshops, speaker events, and Code & Coffee sessions — all managed through The Events Calendar with category filtering and individual detail pages.
PDXWIT relaunched with a digital presence that reflects where the community is going — not just where it's been.
Reflection
What this work taught me.
This project was a full-circle moment — taking a brand I built seven years ago and bringing it into a completely new context. The biggest challenge wasn't the technical build, it was making decisions that honored the original work while serving the needs of a community that has grown and changed. Building for maintainability without sacrificing design quality pushed me to think more carefully about every component and template choice. The result is a site I'm proud of — and one that the PDXWIT team can truly call their own.