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Client story Park District of Oak Park

A new website that brings programs closer to residents — and simplifies updates for staff.

SmartRoots redesigned the Park District of Oak Park website and connected it with Amilia SmartRec, helping residents discover activities and review schedules before continuing to Amilia to register.

Program and schedule information flows from Amilia into the website, reducing the need for staff to maintain the same details in two places.

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  • Custom Website Design
  • Amilia Integration
  • Content Migration
  • Staff Training
Park District of Oak Park
  • Easier program discovery Find activities through navigation organized around resident needs.
  • Connected registration Explore programs on the website, then register and pay in Amilia.
  • Simpler content updates Bring program information into the website from its existing source.

The operational change

Update program information in one place. Help residents find it across your website.

For Oak Park, the redesign addressed two connected needs: making a large recreation offering easier to explore and reducing duplicate program updates for staff.

  1. One source for program information

    The challenge

    Staff were maintaining program details in both the recreation system and the website.

    What changed

    The website now brings program and schedule information directly from Amilia SmartRec, reducing the need to enter the same details twice.

  2. Clearer paths to the right activity

    The challenge

    Residents had a wide range of activities, age groups and schedules to navigate.

    What changed

    Navigation organized around activities and age groups helps residents explore relevant options and review program details before registering.

  3. A clear next step when residents are ready

    The challenge

    Moving from the website to a separate registration platform needed a clear, connected path.

    What changed

    Residents explore programs and schedules on the Oak Park website, then continue to Amilia to complete registration and payment.

  1. Staff update Amilia
  2. Information appears on the website
  3. Residents explore
  4. Register and pay in Amilia

The website supports discovery. Amilia handles registration. Staff maintain program information at its source.

Explore what we built

See how the website connects programs, places and community information.

SmartRoots brought together navigation, Amilia integration and organized content to help residents explore Oak Park’s offerings and take their next step.

  1. 01 · Program discovery

    Find an activity through a clearer starting point.

    The redesigned navigation groups programs by activity and age, with dedicated paths for camps, passes, rentals and registration information.

    For residents: More recognizable starting points for finding something relevant to them.

    The Explore Fitness Activities page, with a search field and filters for day, category and session time above the results. Activities are grouped under headings such as Body + Mind, then by class name, with a row of cards for each.

  2. 02 · Amilia integration

    Review program details before moving to registration.

    Program and schedule information from Amilia SmartRec appears directly on the website. Residents review sessions before continuing to Amilia to register and pay.

    For staff: Less need to maintain the same details across two systems.

    A program detail panel for a Nia class, with a Register Now button, a description, and an information list giving start date, schedule, duration, required age, location and instructor. A point-of-contact card sits alongside it.
    1. Explore on the website
    2. Review session details
    3. Register and pay in Amilia

  3. 03 · Parks & facilities

    Explore parks and facilities in one directory.

    A filterable directory brings parks and recreation facilities together. Project updates give the community a place to follow improvements.

    For residents: A clearer way to find places to visit and follow district improvements.

    The parks directory, with a search field, a location field and filters for category and amenities above the results. A map of Oak Park showing pinned locations sits beside cards for each park and facility, each giving its type, address and phone number.

  4. 04 · Accountability Hub

    Public information, organized in one place.

    Board materials, budgets, reports, plans and FOIA information have a dedicated home.

    The official meeting documents page, with filters for category and year beside documents grouped by year and month. Each document card gives its date, title, subject tags and a download button.

Explore the Oak Park Website

Delivery & support

A new website. A team prepared to manage it.

The Oak Park project brought design, Amilia integration and content migration into one coordinated delivery process. SmartRoots and district staff worked together to prepare the website for launch and help the team manage it afterward.

  1. Shape the experience around community needs

    The district’s priorities and community feedback helped guide the website’s structure and design, creating clearer paths to programs, places and public information.

    Community feedback

  2. Bring content and systems together

    SmartRoots migrated existing content into the new structure and connected program and schedule information from Amilia SmartRec.

    Content & integration

  3. Prepare for launch together

    A shared go-live checklist assigned responsibilities across both teams, helping track outstanding tasks and coordinate the transition.

    Shared launch checklist

  4. Help staff manage what comes next

    Staff training supported the move to the new website. Ongoing support includes accessibility reviews every two weeks to help identify issues and plan improvements.

    Training & ongoing reviews

The partnership continues beyond launch. Staff training, ongoing support and regular website reviews.

Results & client perspective

A website shaped by community needs. A partnership valued by the team.

The redesigned website brings program discovery, connected information and clearer navigation together. For Oak Park’s team, the project also meant having a partner who listened to their priorities and acted on community feedback.

Connected program information Program and schedule information flows from Amilia into the website, reducing duplicate updates for staff.
Clearer paths for residents Navigation organized around activities and age groups gives residents recognizable ways to explore the district’s offerings.
Public information brought together The Accountability Hub provides a dedicated starting point for board materials, budgets, plans and other district information.

In Oak Park’s words

They listened carefully to our needs, considered the feedback we gathered from our community, and translated those insights into a sophisticated, intuitive website.

Melissa Penney Marketing Supervisor, Park District of Oak Park
Read the full testimonial

We have been thrilled to work with SmartRoots on the design of our new website. We initially connected with their team to develop an ADA-accessible site, but they exceeded our expectations by creating an experience that extends well beyond compliance. They listened carefully to our needs, considered the feedback we gathered from our community, and translated those insights into a sophisticated, intuitive website. The result anticipates our customers’ needs—even those they may not have recognized themselves—and we are confident it will serve our community well for years to come.

Let’s talk about your website

Could your website make things easier for residents — and your staff?

If residents struggle to find programs or services, or your staff maintains the same information across separate systems, let’s discuss what could work better. Share your current website, the tools you use and the challenges your team wants to solve. We’ll explore where clearer navigation, thoughtful design and integration could help.

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