Case Study

ArcStone rebuilt the NC Sweet Potato Commission’s failing platform with a WordPress site featuring seasonal content and recipe filtering.

Desktop computer displaying the redesigned North Carolina Sweetpotatoes website by ArcStone. The homepage features a vibrant close-up of a summer fruit salad with sweetpotatoes, strawberries, feta, pistachios, and lemon garnish. The headline reads 'Sunshine, Strawberries & Sweetpotatoes... Life doesn’t get any SWEETER!' with a button linking to the Sweetpotato Summer Fruit Salad recipe. Navigation menus for recipes, education, health, how-to, and about are visible at the top.

The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission serves as the promotional organization for North Carolina sweet potato growers, connecting consumers with the state’s signature agricultural product through education, recipes, and seasonal campaigns. As the leading sweet potato producing state in the nation, North Carolina needed a digital platform that could effectively promote sweet potatoes to consumers while providing operational tools for grower members through AMO integration.

Our Role

Strategy & Planning
WordPress Redesign & Development
AMO Integration
Recipe Platform Development
SEO Optimization
Seasonal Content Architecture
Backend Navigation Improvement

The Challenge:

The NC Sweet Potato Commission faced a critical technical crisis with their existing website built on a failing Symfony PHP platform that was becoming increasingly unstable and difficult to maintain. The site lacked the structure needed to effectively promote sweet potatoes seasonally—crucial for an agricultural product with distinct growing, harvesting, and consumption seasons. Additionally, the platform didn’t provide adequate tools for recipe discovery and filtering, missing opportunities to engage consumers with practical ways to enjoy sweet potatoes throughout the year.

Our Approach

ArcStone rebuilt the NC Sweet Potato Commission’s platform from the ground up using WordPress, with particular attention to seasonal content architecture and consumer engagement. We implemented AMO integration to serve grower members while developing a comprehensive recipe filtering system that helps consumers discover new ways to enjoy sweet potatoes. The redesign prioritized mobile-first design for consumers researching recipes and seasonal information, while streamlined backend navigation enables commission staff to manage content efficiently across growing seasons.

Our development approach emphasized the dual nature of sweet potatoes as both comfort food and healthy ingredient, creating content architecture that serves both nutritional education and culinary inspiration throughout the year.

A recipe browsing webpage showing Halloween-themed sweetpotato dishes. On the left, there are filters for ingredients, meal times, meal types, lifestyle, cuisine, and season. In the main results section, nine recipe cards are displayed with photos and titles, including: Spiced Sweetpotato and Banana Smoothie, Sweetpotato Halloween Brownie Pops, Sweetpotato Mummy Pie, Roasted Sweetpotato Ghosts, Sweetpotato Spider Cookies, and Sweetpotato Vegetarian Sausage Roll. At the top right, there’s a dropdown for sorting (currently set to "Alphabetical A–Z") and page navigation showing “1 2 … 43 Next.”

Reviewing The Results

The NC Sweet Potato Commission launched a modern WordPress platform that successfully balances consumer engagement with member operations. The seasonal focus and improved recipe filtering have boosted consumer interaction, while AMO integration provides growers with the operational tools they need. Enhanced SEO performance has increased visibility for North Carolina sweet potatoes, and the streamlined backend enables staff to maintain timely, relevant content across growing and consumption seasons.