Case study - Directories for nonprofits (Bet Hannon)

Case Study: How a Full-Service WordPress Agency Uses GravityView

An Interview with Bet Hannon of Bet Hannon Business Websites

Written by Kiefer Szurszewski

Last updated:

Categories Case Study

Tags ,

Are you a web agency or freelancer? Then you’ll definitely want to check out this case study! 🔥😎

Today, we’re super excited to talk to Bet Hannon, who runs a full-service WordPress agency. Bet uses GravityView for a number of her customers, especially nonprofits. In particular, we’ll look at two websites that use GravityView for different functions: Messy Church USA and Hearts on Fire. You can follow Bet on Twitter at @bethannon.

Can you tell us about your business? What services do you offer? And who are your typical customers?

We are an agency that offers a full spectrum of WordPress services, including design and development, managed hosting, content management, and consulting. When we first started out 10 years ago, the majority of our clients were nonprofits since some of my background was nonprofit management. Today, about half of our continuing clients are nonprofits, but the majority of our newer clients are small or medium-size businesses, including some startups. All of our clients that use GravityView are nonprofits.

When we first started out 10 years ago, the majority of our clients were nonprofits since some of my background was nonprofit management. Today, about half of our continuing clients are nonprofits, but the majority of our newer clients are small or medium-size businesses, including some startups.

What initially led you to search for GravityView? In other words, what problem did you need to solve?

We had a client who wanted to display a directory of their members, and because of the complexity of the information they wanted to both gather and display, we knew we wanted to use Gravity Forms. We needed a way to display those Gravity Forms entries.

“GravityView was clearly the best option for displaying Gravity Forms entries, especially when we needed to start sorting and filtering them.”

Why did you choose Gravity Forms and GravityView in particular?

We’ve used Gravity Forms since near the beginning of our business as a solution for a variety of our client needs, including event registration – even some complex registrations. GravityView was clearly the best option for displaying Gravity Forms entries, especially when we needed to start sorting and filtering them.

What projects do you use GravityView for? What have you built for your clients using GravityView?

We have built a couple of member directories with GravityView. These are tied to online membership systems for IRL membership organizations. We use WooCommerce, WooCommerce Memberships, WooCommerce Subscriptions, Gravity Forms for WooCommerce, and GravityView. All of the WooCommerce things handle recurring payments and membership accounts.

We love that GravityView makes it possible for individual members to edit their entry for the directory form/membership info.

GravityView lets us filter for the subscriber user role, meaning that new members are immediately displayed in the directory after paying their dues, and when someone’s membership lapses or they cancel, they are immediately no longer displayed in the directory. We love that GravityView makes it possible for individual members to edit their entry for the directory form/membership info. Bet has used GravityView for a number of projects. Let’s take a look at two of them.

Hearts on Fire

Hearts on Fire
Hearts on Fire Directory
Hearts on Fire - Single Entry

Hearts on Fire is a United Methodist organization that connects and supports spiritual directors and retreat leaders via events, newsletters, and a membership program. The site uses the GravityView Listing view for a public directory for members of the organization. Each member also has a single entry page, which contains their biography, email, phone number, and other information. Members can easily log in and modify their own information.

Messy Church

Messy Church
Messy Church Map
Messy Church Single Entry

Messy Church USA is a religious organization operating across a wide range of Christian denominations and traditions. Founded in the United Kingdom, the messychurchusa.org website covers all locations of the organization in the U.S. For this website, Bet used GravityView’s Map view to create a directory of churches, missions, and other locations of the Messy Church in the United States. Each location is displayed on a map and includes the time and date of events, contact information, and other details. Organizers can log in and modify their information, too.

Have you been surprised or delighted by a particular feature in GravityView? In other words, were you able to do something with the software that you initially didn’t know about?

When we first purchased GravityView for the directory display project, I didn’t know that we would be able to let users edit the entries that they had created. (Want to let your users edit their entries? Check out our guide.)


A ton of thanks to Bet for helping us with this case study! If you’re interested in hiring her firm, you can visit their website to get in touch.


Floaty, our mascot.

Ready to build something awesome with GravityView?

GravityView is perfect to web agencies, freelancers, and other developers just like you. You can build virtually anything, from employee feedback boards to film location directories, and everything in between. Read more about the plugin’s features or take a look at our library of powerful add-ons and extensions.

Read next: Arena Success Group Uses GravityView to Power Robust Productivity and Task Management System.

Helpful tips right in your inbox.

Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter for tips, special offers, and more!

Helpful tips right in your inbox.

Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter for tips, special offers, and more!