SMRYNA—The Archdiocese of Atlanta is rolling out a major redesign of its digital presence, splitting its longtime website into two distinct platforms to better serve both the public and internal church communities.

The archdiocese will operate archatl.com as its primary public-facing website, while a new internal site, resources.archatl.com, will centralize information for clergy, parish staff, school faculty and other archdiocesan employees.

The resources website launched Feb. 2, and the new version of archatl.com will launch Feb. 23.

Maureen Smith, chief communications officer for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, said the project was about a year and a half in the making, and was driven by user feedback and data from website analytics.

“The original website was too big,” she said. “It needed to be organized between outside users and users within the archdiocese.”

Surveys from stakeholders and analytics revealed that users often struggled to search the site and find information relevant to their needs. Gretchen Voth, a freelance content strategist, helped with the project and suggested the redesign should separate audiences by allowing each website to be structured from the user’s perspective.

The new resources site will serve as a hub for internal operations, featuring a document library of forms and policies, a calendar for training and workshops and a new home for the weekly Archdiocesan Pastoral Communiqué.

Archatl.com will focus on evangelization and engagement, making it easier for visitors to learn about Catholicism, locate parishes and schools, register for events and more.

Samantha Smith, communications strategist in the office of Communications, said the redesign reflects changing digital habits and the need to make the Catholic Church more reachable.

“I always felt like our faith was very private and needed to be more accessible,” she said. “In terms of our website, it was important we used information that a broader audience could easily learn more about it.”

As an example, a person interested in becoming Catholic previously encountered forms and documents upon visiting the archdiocesan website. Under the new structure, archatl.com will explain the faith and the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, while resources.archatl.com will house the forms and materials used by OCIA or other ministry leaders.

Both websites will feature a modern, clean design and rotate photography from across the archdiocese. Maureen Smith said the goal is to continue adapting as users’ needs change.

“My hope is that the websites better serve its users, and that we continue to evolve with them,” she said.