by Carrie Bornstein, Executive Director
When Mayyim Hayyim was born in 2001, the world was a very different place. The internet certainly was, too. Most Americans, in fact, didn’t even have internet access and if they did, they connected via dial-up. (Go ahead and click here to relive the memories.)
Mayyim Hayyim launched its very own website in 2002. Blue and watery and feathery, the site contained a wealth of information not only about Mayyim Hayyim, but about what a mikveh was and how it could be used.
Mayyim Hayyim’s website in 2002
It served us well for a time… until it didn’t anymore.
Internet aesthetics were changing and functionality became more advanced. We had more events to promote, online giving became possible, and we needed to display photos of our work and its impact.
So seven years later, in 2009, Mayyim Hayyim upgraded to our current website. It was warm, rich in content, and we were even able to allow guests to request an appointment for immersion through the website.
Mayyim Hayyim’s website in 2009
It served us well for a time… until it didn’t anymore.
In the past year mobile internet access exceeded desktop usage for the first time in history. Websites can now contain responsive design, which allows the viewer to see a layout best optimized for their particular screen. Back-end technology has advanced and can be maintained by sites powerful enough to keep the coding constantly updated, resulting in significantly fewer bugs for our users and much greater efficiency for the people logging in to update the site’s content on a regular basis.
So later this year, Mayyim Hayyim will launch our most robust website to date. It will be beautiful, with lots of photos, and easier to navigate. Our blog will be integrated within, and it will look great whether you’re on your smart phone, tablet, or desktop. The overall look and feel will be refreshed – including a first-ever update to our logo, too.
Change can be hard, and yet, it is ever so necessary. We will maintain the essence of who we are, bringing the best of our past and updating it as we move into the exciting unknown of the future. After all, this is what Mayyim Hayyim does best, isn’t it?
In the words of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (and quoted on our current website, of course): “‘The old becomes new, and the new becomes holy.’ That is Mayyim Hayyim.”
Carrie Bornstein is the Executive Director of Mayyim Hayyim.