CASE STUDY
INDUSTRY: Professional Association / Nonprofit Trade Organization
MARKETS: San Diego / Los Angeles / San Francisco / Sacramento
APLD California is the California chapter of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), a national trade association representing professional landscape designers. Through its website, the chapter connects homeowners and property owners with qualified members via its “Find a Designer” directory, while also supporting its membership through education, networking, and advocacy for landscape design as a profession.
THE CHALLENGE
APLD California’s website was large, dated, and hadn’t seen a real overhaul in well over a decade. It looked old and relied on layout techniques that had long since fallen behind modern web standards. The underlying WordPress template was no longer supported, making even routine updates cumbersome for an organization that needed to publish a steady stream of content and announcements to its membership.
Beyond the front end, the technical foundation was aging out from under the site. The operating system, database server, and several key plugins were well past end of life (EOL), leaving the organization exposed to reliability and security risk.
Compounding the problem, the site depended on Gravity Forms to run two of its most important functions: managing the membership directory and collecting sponsorship funds from industry partners. Gravity Forms had moved on from the outdated PHP and MySQL versions the site was running on, putting both of those core functions at risk of breaking down entirely.
THE SOLUTION
Apex Visibility rebuilt the site from the ground up on a modern, fully supported technical foundation, then layered in the design, content, and functionality upgrades APLD California needed to serve its members well into the future.
Modern Technology Foundation
Rebuilt the site on the latest versions of WordPress, PHP, and MySQL, paired with the Avada template system, eliminating end-of-life software risk and creating a stable base for future growth.
Responsive Web Design
Delivered a fully responsive design that presents cleanly across desktop, tablet, and mobile, replacing an outdated, decade-old layout with a modern, mobile-friendly member and visitor experience.
Proximity Search
Added a proximity search function to the membership directory, so members are surfaced in geographically relevant searches, making it easier for the public to find a designer nearby.
Gravity Forms
Upgraded the full Gravity Forms suite so the membership directory and sponsorship collection tools run reliably on current, supported PHP and MySQL versions, removing the risk of failure.
Content Curation
Reviewed and curated all existing site content, removing outdated material and aligning messaging with the new design to give members and visitors a clear, current experience.
Website Maintenance
Ongoing management of the membership list, sponsorship listings, and magazine updates, paired with regular software patching and updates to keep the site secure and current.
THE BENEFIT
APLD California now has a website its board and membership can be proud of — modern, responsive, and built on a supported technical foundation that removes the security and reliability risk of running EOL software. Day-to-day management is dramatically easier for the team, replacing a cumbersome, outdated workflow with a template system built for ongoing updates.
The addition of proximity search to the membership directory was one of the most impactful changes for the organization’s core mission: connecting homeowners with qualified landscape designers. Members are now visible to geographically relevant searches, giving the public a far more useful way to find a designer near them — and giving members a real, tangible benefit from their association dues.
TESTIMONIAL
“”APLD California finally has a website that matches the professionalism of our members. Apex Visibility guided us through a complete modernization — new technology, new design, and a proximity search that’s made our directory genuinely useful to the public. We’re grateful for the partnership and excited about where the site can take us next.”
Gün Ünsal, President
APLD CA President 2025 – 2026
CONCLUSION
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