Web Design Case Study
April Yamasaki
April’s readers show up looking for a prayer when words feel far away, a book after a loss, or a pastor who can speak to a congregation. The website had to greet all three, and still sound like her.
Business Challenge
A lifetime of writing needed a front door
April Yamasaki is an author, editor, pastor, and spiritual formation mentor. After twenty-five years as lead pastor of a Mennonite congregation, she now serves as resident author with Valley CrossWay Church, edits Rejoice!, teaches online, and mentors through Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Her latest book, Hope Beyond Our Sorrows, is for people living with life-changing loss. The writing is deep. The problem was finding a way in.
Someone in grief does not want an undifferentiated blog. A church looking for a speaker does not want to guess whether she is available. A reader who loves Sacred Pauses should land on books, not a random post from 2014. April needed a homepage that offers doors, a books section that presents titles without shouting, and a subscribe path for people who are not ready to buy.
Just some of the pages we created
Desktop, tablet & mobile, designed to convert on every screen
Screen 1
Homepage Redesign
A calm home that opens with six theme doors, the latest book, and a clear invitation to read or subscribe, so a visitor in grief or a church looking for a sp…
- Desktop
- Tablet
- Mobile
Screen 2
Books Library
Each title gets room to breathe, with buy links and free study-guide buttons where a guide exists, so a reader or small group can go from a cover to a copy w…
- Desktop
- Tablet
- Mobile
Screen 3
Subscribe & Free Resources
A quiet next step for readers who are not buying a book today: two free ebooks on prayer and Sabbath rest, plus email when April publishes new writing.
- Desktop
- Tablet
- Mobile
Solutions We Delivered
A site that reads the way April writes
IIAS designed the experience around how people actually arrive: hurting, curious, or looking for a speaker, not looking for a sitemap.
Theme doors on day one
The homepage asks what you need today and offers six ways in: Prayer, Grief & Hope, Scripture, Spiritual Practices, Writing, and Church & Ministry. A reader can start where they are instead of scrolling a catch-all feed.
A books shelf that does not shout
Hope Beyond Our Sorrows leads, then the rest of the library follows with buy links and study guides. The books page treats each title as its own invitation, for personal reading, small groups, and congregational life.
Subscribe as hospitality
The next step for many visitors is not a cart. It is an email list and a free ebook, How to Pray When Prayer Seems Impossible. That path sits in the open, with Sabbath Rest as a second gift, instead of a buried footer box.
Voice, pace, and phone reading
The layout leaves room around April’s words and the sunrise photography. Type, spacing, and mobile layouts are built for the way people actually read devotionals and grief writing: on a phone, often late at night.
Key Outcomes
What changed for April Yamasaki
- Gave April a homepage that points readers to the writing they need today
- Made her books easy to browse, buy, and study
- Put a subscribe path and free ebook in the open, instead of a buried newsletter box
- Kept her voice intact across posts, books, teaching, and speaking
- Made a long archive of posts feel navigable by theme
- Gave churches and schools a clear place to start when they want to invite her
Conclusion
A stronger digital foundation for April Yamasaki
The April Yamasaki website treats writing as hospitality. Readers can walk in through grief, prayer, or a book title, stay for a post, and leave with a next step that does not feel like a pitch.
The Next Step
Want a website like April’s?
If your writing, teaching, or practice is personal, the website should feel that way too. We can talk about a site that hosts your library and still offers a clear next step.
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