“It was very, very satisfying to feel that I was on my way again. I wasn’t stopped by this technical problem. I could make further moves forward.”
Palewell Press is an independent not-for-profit publisher based in South West London, focused on books about Human Rights and the Environment. It seeks to publish books written by refugees and other people from marginalised groups.
Meet Camilla
Camilla Reeve, Senior Editor, joined our cohort of trainees for ‘Build My Community Website in 7 Weeks’ in October 2023.
In a normal day, her work entails anything from receiving and editing manuscripts from her writers, to creating book covers, to publicising books and events, and finally to leading the commercial side of publishing.
Palewell Press uplifts writers from all walks of life. Her authors tackle a range of important topics: the struggles of dealing with the Home Office as a refugee; the issues of people trafficking; the pain of saying goodbye to home and starting a new life in a foreign land.
At other times, they revolve around human rights of a different kind, such as the importance of education.
“They have these important stories to tell [...] My job is not to turn them into Shakespeare, but to make sure that what they’re saying is as clear as they can be.”
The digital challenge
Her existing website was built by her husband, who sadly passed away some years earlier. After his death, she quickly learned that the website was not operating properly on mobile phones.
“When he died, I lost my sort of Technical Support, who understood all the technology.”
She explains that in recent years, more and more readers have been buying their books through their mobiles. The problems with formatting meant that potential customers were not able to view her online catalogue. What she wanted was a more accessible website that functioned correctly on all types of screens.
However, unable to afford the cost of having her website professionally recreated, she was eventually introduced to Superhighways. She now had the chance to rebuild the website for free using technology that supported mobile devices.
How Superhighways helped
“The training classes became a community, a little group of people who were willing to help each other. They made me feel empowered.”
Camilla has successfully rebuilt her website using Voice Online Communities with training from Superhighways. This training included a couple of private sessions and a series of informative classes, which provided her with guidance on creating a searchable catalogue and on transferring her domain from the existing website.
“They are very friendly, so you instantly feel valued. They take an interest in your charity or your work.”
Camilla discusses how, as well as learning how to transfer her data over to a more accessible platform, she also discovered new features that were not previously available to her, such as a way to publicise her events, or to link to YouTube internally.
The results
When asked what kind of advice she could give to other people starting out with their websites, Camilla responded with a series of questions to ask oneself: Why do you want to have a website? Who do you want to have sitting in front of your website and looking at it?
Recognising the importance of clearly understanding her target audience, Camilla notes that designing became easier once she gained insight into her users.
Additionally, her training with Superhighways offered a deep reflection on the overall structure of her organisation.
“The first two or three sessions helped me re-evaluate what Palewell Press is trying to do. It’s changed what I do in my business as well as what I do on the website [...] I realised I wanted to move back to my roots – which is to work with refugees.”
“Your website is not just a technical thing; it’s the window of your organisation and it’s supposed to show what you really believe in. So, for any small organisations working in the community, I would definitely say go to Superhighways and get their mentoring and technical help.”
Visit Palewell Press to see the results of Camilla’s dedicated work.
Need training or support?
Join one of our courses or get in touch for one-to-one support.
Create a new website
If you are a London-based organisation that needs a free community website you can apply for one here at any time.
Build my community website training
We will be running another 7-week training programme in the Autumn of 2024.
Find out more at our introductory webinar:
- Need a new website? Information session about our training opportunities
- Monday 23 September 2024
- 2.30pm to 3pm
About Digital Foundations
Digital Foundations is a training and advice programme led by small charity digital, data and technology experts Superhighways, backed by specialist organisations Voice Online Communities, Refugee Council and HEAR Equality and Human Rights Network.
Digital Foundations is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.