The Northern Lakes Economic Alliance (NLEA) is a regional economic development organization serving businesses and communities across Northern Michigan. With a mission to drive sustainable growth, job creation, and regional collaboration, the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance plays a vital role in supporting small businesses, entrepreneurs, and local governments. When NLEA needed a fresh, user-focused website to better communicate their services, success stories, and community impact, they partnered with Saltech Systems to bring their digital vision to life.
Before partnering with Saltech Systems, the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance faced several challenges with its existing website. As a regional nonprofit organization serving multiple counties and stakeholders, NLEA needed a platform that could effectively communicate a wide range of services, from business development and grant support to community planning and workforce training. Unfortunately, their previous website was outdated, difficult to navigate, and lacked a cohesive structure to support this diverse content.
One of the most pressing issues was user experience. The site was not mobile-friendly, which created friction for users accessing information on the go, especially small business owners, entrepreneurs, and local leaders seeking quick access to resources. Content was buried or inconsistently formatted, making it difficult for visitors to find essential tools, forms, or updates related to economic development programs.
Additionally, the visual design no longer reflected the professionalism or forward-thinking nature of the organization. As the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance grew in scope and visibility, the site failed to convey the regional impact and leadership they provide across Northern Michigan. Branding elements were inconsistent, and calls to action were either missing or ineffective, leading to lower engagement and fewer inquiries.
Finally, the NLEA team needed a more functional backend experience. Updating content on the old site was cumbersome and time-consuming, limiting their ability to share news, success stories, event information, or program updates in real-time.
To overcome these obstacles and better serve their communities, the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance turned to Saltech Systems for a comprehensive redesign—one that would reflect their mission, improve access to services, and support long-term digital growth.
The vision for the new Northern Lakes Economic Alliance website was to create a digital platform that reflects the organization’s leadership, accessibility, and commitment to regional prosperity. NLEA needed more than just a visually updated site—they needed a tool that would effectively connect communities, empower local businesses, and communicate the full scope of their impact across Northern Michigan.
The goal was to design a modern, responsive website that would serve as a comprehensive resource hub for entrepreneurs, economic developers, municipal leaders, and nonprofit partners. The site had to be intuitive and easy to navigate, allowing users to quickly access business support programs, grant opportunities, regional data, and success stories. Just as importantly, it needed to elevate the professionalism and trust that the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance has earned through decades of regional service.
The redesign would also need to support long-term scalability and ease of maintenance. The NLEA team envisioned a content management system that would allow them to independently publish updates, promote events, share news, and add new initiatives as the organization grows. Visually, the site needed to reinforce NLEA’s brand identity while making the experience feel welcoming, dynamic, and forward-thinking.
Ultimately, the vision was to transform the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance website into a digital headquarters—one that inspires economic collaboration, strengthens local partnerships, and helps the organization achieve its mission more efficiently in the digital age.
Saltech Systems began the redesign process for the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance by conducting a deep discovery phase focused on research, alignment, and strategic planning. Because NLEA serves a broad audience—including entrepreneurs, economic developers, government agencies, and nonprofit partners—it was critical to first understand the organization’s goals, user groups, and content needs.
We started with a full audit of the existing website, identifying usability gaps, technical limitations, and content structure issues. The analysis revealed inconsistencies in navigation, outdated visuals, and a lack of clear user pathways to important resources like business development programs, funding opportunities, and community data. This insight helped us outline a content strategy that would prioritize accessibility, clarity, and logical organization.
Next, we facilitated planning sessions with the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance leadership and communications team to define their key messaging, desired functionality, and performance goals. These conversations highlighted several high-priority needs: the ability to easily update content, improve engagement with local stakeholders, and increase awareness of available services throughout Northern Michigan.
Based on these findings, we developed a comprehensive sitemap and content structure tailored to NLEA’s audience. Our goal was to create a centralized digital hub where users could quickly access the tools, programs, and information most relevant to their needs. This included new content sections for regional success stories, event listings, small business support, and economic data, all structured to support search engine visibility and an improved user experience.
By investing time in thorough discovery and strategy, Saltech Systems was able to create a strong foundation for the redesign—one that would allow the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance to communicate its value more effectively and grow its digital presence with purpose.
With a strategic foundation in place, the Saltech Systems team moved into the design and user experience (UX) phase of the project for the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance. Our goal was to create a modern, responsive, and visually compelling website that would elevate NLEA’s brand identity while making critical content more accessible to a diverse user base.
We began by establishing a clean, professional visual style that aligned with the organization’s mission of fostering economic growth across Northern Michigan. The new design features a balanced color palette inspired by the region’s natural landscape, clear typography for readability, and consistent use of branded elements that reinforce the trust and credibility of the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance.
To enhance usability, we implemented an intuitive navigation structure that allows users to easily browse by audience, whether they are business owners seeking support, community leaders looking for planning resources, or partners exploring collaboration opportunities. Clear call-to-action buttons guide users to key programs, contact forms, downloadable resources, and news updates without unnecessary friction.
We also prioritized accessibility and mobile responsiveness to ensure that visitors could access information seamlessly across all devices. Given the wide range of stakeholders served by the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance, every page needed to deliver a consistent, user-friendly experience—whether accessed on a desktop in a municipal office or a mobile phone in a rural business setting.
Interactive design elements, such as image galleries, testimonials, and success story highlights, were incorporated to humanize the content and showcase NLEA’s real-world impact. These features work together to help the site feel not only functional but also engaging, encouraging users to stay longer, explore more, and connect with the organization.
The result was a polished, professional design that reflects the forward-thinking nature of the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance while providing users with an intuitive, informative experience every time they visit.
Once the design was finalized, our development team began bringing the new Northern Lakes Economic Alliance website to life with clean, efficient code and a fully responsive framework. This phase focused on transforming static designs into a dynamic, fast-loading, and user-friendly website that performs seamlessly across all devices and browsers.
A core priority for this build was selecting and implementing a robust content management system (CMS) that would give the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance team full control over their content. We developed the site on a flexible WordPress platform, customized with intuitive backend tools to make content editing as simple and sustainable as possible. With this CMS, NLEA staff can independently update news, events, business resources, and community initiatives without needing to rely on external support for every change.
We also integrated a modular page builder, enabling the team to create new pages, rearrange layouts, and promote campaigns on-the-fly. This flexibility is especially valuable for a regional economic development organization like NLEA, where new programs, funding opportunities, and partnerships emerge frequently.
On the front end, our developers optimized the site for speed, accessibility, and SEO. Every page was structured with semantic HTML and schema markup, ensuring strong visibility in search engines. Important sections like Business Resources, Regional Impact, and Events were coded for easy indexing, while performance optimizations like lazy loading, caching, and image compression ensured fast load times.
Security was also a key focus. We implemented HTTPS, anti-spam protections, and user access controls to safeguard the integrity of the site and its content. As an organization that interacts with public-sector partners and local businesses, it was vital for the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance to have a trustworthy and secure digital presence.
By the end of the development phase, NLEA had a high-performing website with the tools and flexibility to grow alongside its mission, making it easier than ever to connect, inform, and serve the Northern Michigan business community.
After development and testing were complete, Saltech Systems prepared for a smooth and secure launch of the new Northern Lakes Economic Alliance website. Our launch process included rigorous quality assurance, final accessibility audits, mobile testing, and SEO verification to ensure a successful go-live with zero downtime.
We coordinated closely with the NLEA team to schedule the launch during a period of low traffic, minimizing disruption while ensuring stakeholders would immediately benefit from the updated online experience. As the site went live, we provided live monitoring and post-launch support to catch any lingering bugs and ensure optimal performance from day one.
The response to the new Northern Lakes Economic Alliance website was overwhelmingly positive. Visitors noted the improved clarity of navigation, stronger branding, and faster page load times. Most importantly, key resources—such as business development tools, event registrations, and economic data—became much easier for users to access and understand.
Internally, NLEA staff gained newfound confidence in managing and updating content through their user-friendly CMS. Whether publishing news updates, adding new program pages, or highlighting community initiatives, the team could now act quickly and efficiently, keeping their digital presence aligned with their mission and activities across Northern Michigan.
Since launch, the website has seen measurable improvements in engagement and performance. Bounce rates decreased, page views per session increased, and search engine rankings improved for regional economic development terms. These results demonstrate that the new design, optimized structure, and SEO-forward build are working together to expand the digital reach of the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance.
The successful launch of this project reflects Saltech Systems’ commitment to creating impactful, results-driven websites that help mission-focused organizations grow, connect, and lead in their industries.
