Grieving Back to Life Case Study

From DIY website to accessible, future-ready platform

Project overview

Grieving Back to Life is a grief-informed practice founded by Ayana Thomas, a Grief Practitioner and The Grief Coach, whose work centers grief beyond death, particularly grief connected to trauma, justice involvement, reentry, and major life transitions. As Ayana’s work and visibility expanded, her existing website was no longer able to support the depth, credibility, or accessibility her brand required.

Graceful Web Studio partnered with Ayana to rebuild her website on Webflow, creating an accessible, scalable platform that reflects her voice, supports content growth, and positions her work for long-term impact.

The challenge

Ayana’s previous website was built using a do-it-yourself GoDaddy platform. While it served as an initial starting point, the site had reached its limits.

Key challenges included:

• The design could not be refined to match the tone, clarity, and professionalism of her brand
• Accessibility best practices were not met, creating barriers for users
• The site structure made it difficult to add blogs, events, and long-form content
• Content organization and messaging lacked clarity as her services expanded
• The platform did not support future growth, including speaking, workshops, and publishing

As her work moved further into public-facing, justice-focused, and educational spaces, the website needed to do more than exist. It needed to communicate trust, authority, and care.

The solution

Graceful Web Studio rebuilt the website from the ground up using Webflow, with accessibility, clarity, and scalability at the core of every decision.

The solution included:

• A full Webflow rebuild to replace the GoDaddy site
• A WCAG-aligned, accessible structure designed for real-world usability
• A refined content strategy centered on grief beyond death
• Clear service architecture for individual, organizational, and program-based offerings
• A flexible CMS to support blogs, events, and future content
• A design system that feels calm, grounded, and professional

Rather than simply redesigning pages, the project focused on creating a platform that could grow with Ayana’s work over time.

Process and approach

Discovery and strategy

We began with a focused discovery process to understand Ayana’s audience, values, and long-term goals. This included clarifying how grief beyond death should be communicated, identifying her primary audiences (individuals and organizations), and aligning the website structure to support both.

Special care was taken to ensure the language felt human, non-clinical, and trauma-informed, while still establishing authority and credibility.

Content development

Graceful Web Studio led content development in close collaboration with Ayana. Using her existing language, philosophy, and lived experience, we crafted website copy that speaks directly to users without relying on generic therapy or wellness terminology.

This included:

• Homepage messaging centered on transformation and dignity
• Service descriptions for individual grief counseling, organizational support, workshops, speaking engagements, and a new curriculum offering
• A values-driven About page highlighting Ayana’s experience and approach
• Events and blog structures designed for long-term publishing

To accelerate launch and establish authority, we also wrote the first three long-form blog posts, each over 1,000 words, designed to support SEO, AI discovery, and educational outreach.

Accessibility-first build

Accessibility was integrated throughout the design and development process, not added as an afterthought.

This included:

• Semantic HTML structure and clear heading hierarchy
• Accessible color contrast and typography choices
• Screen reader–friendly navigation and content flow
• Keyboard-accessible interactions
• Plain-language accessibility and privacy statements aligned with WCAG 2.2 Level AA

The goal was to ensure the site is usable, readable, and welcoming for as many people as possible.

CMS and scalability

The site was built with a flexible CMS that allows Ayana to:

• Publish blog posts independently
• Manage events and past speaking engagements
• Add new services and programs
• Continue growing content without technical friction

This empowers long-term ownership while maintaining a strong structural foundation.

The result

The final website is an accessible, thoughtfully designed platform that accurately represents Grieving Back to Life and supports Ayana’s continued growth.

Key outcomes include:

• A professional, future-ready Webflow website
• Clear positioning around grief beyond death
• Improved accessibility and usability
• A scalable content system for blogs and events
• Increased confidence in sharing and promoting her work online

The site now serves as a credible home for Ayana’s counseling, organizational work, speaking, and publishing, while remaining flexible for what comes next.

Ongoing support

Following launch, Ayana received full edit access and training to confidently manage her website. Graceful Web Studio also offered optional ongoing maintenance and content support, allowing updates to be handled either through a monthly plan or on an as-needed basis. This flexible approach ensures the website can continue evolving alongside the work it represents.

Final thoughts

This project reflects Graceful Web Studio’s commitment to building accessible, people-centered websites that do more than look good. By combining accessibility, strategy, and thoughtful content development, the Grieving Back to Life website now functions as a meaningful extension of the work itself.

Want to see the finished website?

Explore the live Grieving Back to Life website here:

‍View the website →

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