Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) is a government agency focused on supporting behavioral health and developmental services across the state. The agency needed a modern, accessible, and easy-to-manage website to better serve the public and internal stakeholders.
Client
Virginia DBHDS
Scope of work
UX/UI Design
Web Development
Search Engine Optimization
Accessibility Enhancements
Project details
As a full-time developer at DBHDS, I led the UI/UX design and handled both front-end and back-end development. I built a custom WordPress theme from scratch, ensuring the site met high standards for accessibility (WCAG compliance), search engine optimization, and performance.
Beyond the obvious
I developed a series of backend systems that extended the CMS beyond its typical capabilities:
Custom Document Library: Designed and built a document management system from scratch to handle PDFs and forms, with filtering, access control, and search features.
Event Management Module: Architected a flexible event system to handle public events, recurring dates, and categorization, all manageable via the admin interface.
Reusable Design Patterns: Created a suite of custom Gutenberg blocks and layout components to empower content editors to build dynamic pages without touching code, while maintaining design consistency.
These solutions significantly improved the agency’s ability to publish, organize, and secure content while staying compliant with government accessibility and information architecture standards.