1. To: Courtney Sorensen and Brittlyn Schwartz, Fresno County Farm Bureau
From: Erika Castañon, MCJ 158S: Red Wave Public Relations
Date: October 12, 2016
Subject: Website evaluation and recommendations
The Fresno County Farm Bureau has a prominent name and role in Valley agriculture, and its
website should match that. This memo will guide the website towards becoming a more vibrant
space to help the Farm Bureau achieve its goal of bringing awareness and educating the
community on agricultural issues. I have broken the website analysis into two critical pieces:
content and design.
CONTENT
The homepage is any visitor’s introduction to the organization, so the content placed on it
should leave a lasting first impression. It is great that there are widgets to join the Farm Bureau
or to renew a membership, for FCFB social media, weather and a calendar. However, consider
placing these widgets lower on the sidebar. The weather link is inactive. It is a plus that the
calendar is updated, but it isn’t as beefy as it could be. It is fine to keep the entire Google
Calendar in the ‘About Us’ section.
AgWire is also an interesting feature for the homepage, but the link to the sample newsletters
are a little outdated. Timely content will give page visitors a better idea of the current state of the
Farm Bureau, and leave the impression that you are a relevant news source. The new hiring
document has not updated since July 13, 2016, and the FAACT application is also outdated.
These two pieces of information do not necessarily need to be on the homepage.
To make the homepage even better, include a “Who Are We” section. This can be just a few
lines and photos since the “About Us” tab on the left includes more detail.
In the news section, there is great content in the press kit, including the crops and harvest
calendar. There are two different press kits, one that is outdated and has an older logo. The
older kit does have great Farm Bureau facts that could be incorporated into a visual timeline
under the “About Us” or “History” section. The local ag news with the Blossom Trail and Fruit
Trail could be moved to “Fresno County Ag” since it is not necessarily news, but definitely
important to the Valley.
Similar to the homepage, some of the links to the California Farm Bureau new section is broken.
It would be more effective to include the California Farm Bureau’s Facebook feed or to more
recent news releases.

2. Since one of the main goals of the Farm Bureau is to attract members, the “Membership
Section” should be prioritized. The best way to get someone’s buy in is to feature current
members, someone that they can relate to. This section would benefit from pictures of
members through a slideshow with a short bio for each member, or even quotes. For
consistency, each section for the different types of memberships should include the price.
Additionally, the membership brochure has great information but it could be displayed in a more
interactive layout on the page itself instead of just the link. A graphic organizer--like a flowchart
or Piktochart--or a slideshow of pictures of the companies logos would be more visually
appealing and give potential members a better look at the benefits. For example, the
downloadable brochure currently has a great advertisement page from Chevrolet that is specific
to the Farm Bureau. The FCFB website has a tab labeled “Benefits” but it should say “Featured
Benefits” since there are only a few listed with descriptions. This is where the graphics and
descriptions should be hosted.
The goals of the Farm Bureau as stated on the website is to “communicate and educate the
media and public on the issues and values of agriculture, actively build coalitions with
agriculture and community organizations, and cultivate and champion political leaders who
understand and support agriculture.” These goals, however, should also be restated in the
“Action Center” tab. As it currently stands, there is no clear purpose for the tab, but it should
provide details for advocacy efforts and how members can get involved. Make it feel like they
are given a voice in the organization. As always, show don’t tell: use photos of political events
and provide quotes about how FCFB’s addresses local issues.
Overall, try to focus on what makes the organization thrive-its members. Celebrate and highlight
the diversity of the members, and of agriculture overall. If you feel that your website should
direct people to connect with you on social, consider a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed
widget, showing the most recent posts. I would visit the site again because there is rich content
in the history, list of commodities, and interesting special events. As it currently stands, I would
not revisit the site for news since that makes up a bulk of the content. Additionally, I would
suggest building up the “Action Center” (advocacy) piece of the website.
DESIGN
From an outsider’s perspective, the design of the website is not as inviting as it could be. The
main thing that places the organization in context is the background image, which is really
unique, but there is a lot of unused white space. The current layout of the homepage is very
narrow, and might benefit from a wider layout. The California Farm Bureau uses a wide layout
currently with a header and a top menu, compared to a menu on the left.
The calendar link, social media buttons and membership buttons great, but they can be placed
near the bottom. I would also use updated logos for social media. Employee resources that are
currently on the homepage should have it’s own designated section in the menu, including
compliance and employment opportunities. Additionally, the homepage would benefit from a

3. search engine so that all your information is available, but also gives page visitors a more
effective way to find what they are looking for.
Viewer accessibility is essential. The earthy tones in the background convey a tone that rings
agriculture. The red text is difficult to read for viewers with any eye related issues, and the white
text on red background is a harsh contrast. The font is fine, but use less italics.
The key to an effective website is to be audience focused and provide the answers to the
question, “Who is the Fresno County Farm Bureau?” Put yourself in the shoes of your audience,
and think of the questions that might lead them to your website. Be a resource to returning
community members and your own members.