A Website Built for Fruit People (and the Community That Loves Them!)

When Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI) decided it was time for a new website, they weren’t looking for something flashy just for the sake of it. They wanted a site that felt like them — welcoming, educational, community-focused, and genuinely useful for the people who care deeply about rare and unusual fruit.

The goal was simple (in theory):

• Make it easier for new people to discover RFCI and join
• Give existing members a better, more engaging online home

What followed was a collaborative, thoughtful process to build something that supports a real community — not just page views.

RFCI isn’t a typical organization. Their members include backyard growers, orchard owners, researchers, and fruit enthusiasts from all over the world. The website needed to reflect that diversity while staying easy to navigate and approachable.

Together, we focused on creating a site that:

Rather than forcing the content into a rigid structure, we worked with RFCI to organize the site the way their community actually thinks — with clear paths, friendly language, and room to grow.

One of the most rewarding parts of this project was how collaborative it was. RFCI wasn’t just signing off on designs — they were actively involved in shaping how the site works.

Through regular check-ins, testing, and feedback, we built a custom member experience that includes:

Nothing here was “set it and forget it.” The site was built to change, improve, and adapt over time — just like the organization itself.

A big challenge for membership organizations is serving two audiences at once: people who are brand new, and people who’ve been around for years. The new RFCI site was designed to do both without feeling cluttered or confusing.

For prospective members, the site clearly answers:

• What is RFCI?
• Why should I join?
• How do I get involved?

For current members, it provides a smoother, more intuitive experience — making it easier to access content, stay informed, and feel connected to the broader community.

After launch, RFCI chose to stay on one of The Site Shark WordPress Maintenance Package

That means their site is hosted with The Site Shark and actively maintained — with what’s essentially a full-time webmaster on call who already knows the site inside and out.

Updates, backups, security monitoring, performance checks, and content tweaks are handled proactively, so small issues never turn into big problems. For a complex, membership-driven site, that peace of mind is huge.

It also lets RFCI focus on what they do best: growing fruit, sharing knowledge, and supporting their members — not worrying about website maintenance.

At the end of the day, this project wasn’t just about launching a new website. It was about building something together that supports RFCI’s mission and community long-term.

When a site is built with an organization — not just for it — it shows. And that’s exactly what we aimed for here.