A custom website where the client builds each page exactly the way they want it

Domov sv. Josefa is a facility of Oblastní charita Červený Kostelec (the Červený Kostelec Regional Charity), caring for patients with multiple sclerosis — a disease that gradually attacks the whole body, shutting down one function after another. It's an incurable condition, but quality specialist care and regular sessions with a therapist can ease its symptoms, slow its progression, and significantly improve patients' quality of life. Domov sv. Josefa provides comprehensive care — alongside physiotherapy, it also offers patients spiritual support, psychological help, and speech therapy.

We got to know the people at Domov sv. Josefa through our work for the Asociace společenské odpovědnosti (Association of Social Responsibility), a long-standing client of ours (whose website, incidentally, is also our work). From our very first meetings, it was clear the client had a precise vision for their web presence — they already had a finished graphic design and wireframes ready.

We originally approached Superkoders wanting them to code just a few pages for us, one of which was a self-service advisory section. But once we started discussing it together, it seemed like those pages would end up sticking out from the rest of the site. In the end, we agreed to have Superkoders build the whole website.

For Domov sv. Josefa, we developed a total of 50 unique components, built from the client's graphic design. What do these components actually look like? They're design blocks for presenting different types of content — an image-and-text block, highlighted text, contact details, newsletter sign-up, various navigation hubs, client testimonials, and more.

We gave the client a total of 50 puzzle pieces to assemble the site's individual pages from. To make sure the puzzle pieces fit together nicely, we needed to create a guide for them — a stylesheet. Just the testimonial component alone has four variants. With or without a photo, with a bold border, or with a button you can add a link to.

The Domov's premises are exceptional in many ways, just like the care we provide here. So we felt it deserved an exceptional website too. We worked with our graphic designer on the designs, then went looking for developers. We couldn't have found a better match than Superkoders. Our discussions with them led us to a puzzle-based website solution, which was exactly what we needed.

Before building a page, the client can browse through all the components in one place, and pick the ones that best suit the page they're creating. Once the client has finished a page in the admin, they can preview it before publishing and make any adjustments needed.

For the editable components, we also had to work out just how much editability to allow — how far to go without the client getting lost. We relied a lot on feedback from Domov sv. Josefa for that. Only half-jokingly, we say we let the client 'walk the construction site' in this case — we had them test and give feedback on the first part of the site right from the start of the project. It's worth adding that this way of building a website calls for a more experienced client — it definitely wouldn't work with someone who has no prior experience filling in a website.

We had the website ready in two months. On top of that, after just 3 weeks from the brief, we handed the client the first part of the site to fill in — the blog. That let the team at Domov sv. Josefa try out working with the system, start creating their first pages, and give us their feedback.

What I like about Superkoders is their client-focused approach. We consulted a lot together on the site's admin, and it was clear they genuinely cared about making it easy for us to work with and about our work being efficient. For example, we worked out a donor-logo library so we'd only ever need to upload each logo to the admin once. It's great that Superkoders responded to our requests really quickly, and communication never got stuck anywhere.

One development challenge was the interactive components we built for the website — for example, a visual illustration of how multiple sclerosis gradually affects the body, and how Domov sv. Josefa helps patients with each of its symptoms.

By the way, we had to significantly simplify this component for optimal display on mobile:

A separate component is the interactive funding model, which changes depending on whether the website visitor wants to see the current state, the ideal state, or how the care the Domov provides would be scaled back without donors.

Development went smoothly; the one real stumble came near the end, when the client realized their graphic designer had made the site too large. So, right before launch, we had to scale the entire website down to 80% of its original size.

The solution we chose for Domov sv. Josefa lets the site's admin get “wildly” creative and click together pages exactly as they envision them. It's worth adding, though, that a solution like this places significant demands on the client.

A puzzle-style website is a good fit when:

• this isn't your first website, and you have some prior experience managing and building websites,
• you're able to find your way around the admin (in other words, you know what a CMS is and how to use one),
• you have an eye for visuals, and can work thoughtfully with graphic elements,
• if more than one person manages the site, your team can set and stick to rules so the pages stay visually consistent.

Filling in a website you assemble yourself to this extent takes a certain level of user skill — if nothing else, so you know what you're getting into. We knew we'd either end up with a foolproof template solution that wouldn't let us have the kind of site we wanted, or we'd allow ourselves more freedom in laying out pages, at the cost of somewhat higher demands on admin work. We chose the latter, and it works brilliantly. As a team, we set ourselves rules up front for how we'd build pages, and we stick to them. Honestly, it already feels foolproof to us too. Credit for that goes to Superkoders — they designed a fairly complex website that turned out to be completely simple to manage.

Looking ahead, we're planning a follow-up project with Domov sv. Josefa — a fundraising e-shop, through which donors will be able to contribute a chosen amount toward specific forms of help. We really enjoy working with the Domov, not least because of its charitable purpose. We're glad we could help make life better for people with multiple sclerosis and their loved ones.