Arts Council England achieves 167% increase in goal completions with a flexible CMS solution
Client overview
Arts Council England is the national development agency for culture and creativity, dedicated to supporting artists, arts organisations, museums, and libraries across the country. Their website serves as a central hub for funding applications, research, job listings, and community engagement.
Since 2017, we have collaborated with Arts Council England on multiple development projects and provided hosting and support services to enhance their digital presence. Through our partnership, we have implemented tailored solutions that enable them to effectively serve diverse communities throughout England.
Since 2017, we have collaborated with Arts Council England on multiple development projects and provided hosting and support services to enhance their digital presence. Through our partnership, we have implemented tailored solutions that enable them to effectively serve diverse communities throughout England.
The challenge
Arts Council England faced limitations with their existing website and content management system, which lacked the necessary control and flexibility for effective communication. The rigid CMS restricted editors’ ability to customise content and page structures, leading to missed opportunities for user engagement.
In addition, the Arts Council sought to develop a new website for their Arts Council Collection, which required a fresh strategy to improve the user experience while effectively presenting the collection's artistic offerings.
To address these issues, the project aimed to enhance control for content editors, by improving the existing CMS to provide greater flexibility. We also needed to empower content managers with increased freedom to edit text and video. Finally, Arts Council England were looking for an improved user experience, through a more user-friendly navigation and better organised content to align with user needs, allowing for easier access and interaction.
In addition, the Arts Council sought to develop a new website for their Arts Council Collection, which required a fresh strategy to improve the user experience while effectively presenting the collection's artistic offerings.
To address these issues, the project aimed to enhance control for content editors, by improving the existing CMS to provide greater flexibility. We also needed to empower content managers with increased freedom to edit text and video. Finally, Arts Council England were looking for an improved user experience, through a more user-friendly navigation and better organised content to align with user needs, allowing for easier access and interaction.
The approach
To meet the challenges faced by Arts Council England, we implemented a comprehensive solution centred around Drupal, incorporating several key features. Through this approach, we aimed to create a robust platform that not only enhances user experience but also empowers Arts Council England to manage their digital presence more effectively:
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Flexible content management system:
We developed a modular, component-based CMS that gives content managers greater control over the website. This enables them to create and edit pages without needing extensive coding knowledge, thus streamlining the publishing process. -
User-centred navigation:
For both the main website and the Arts Council Collection, we redesigned the navigation structure based on insights from nearly 100 stakeholders. Techniques such as card sorting and tree testing were used to ensure that the navigation meets user expectations and facilitates easy access to information. -
Application optimisation:
We introduced an eligibility self-assessment test to improve the funding application process, effectively addressing the high abandonment rate resulting from unclear application instructions. -
Scalable hosting:
To manage traffic spikes, especially during funding announcements, we implemented a cloud-based hosting solution that adjusts resources seamlessly, maintaining stable performance.
The results
The successful implementation of these improvements strengthened the main Arts Council website's functionality and also laid a solid foundation for the upcoming Arts Council Collection website. This project aims to present art collections in an engaging manner while ensuring accessibility for all users.
The enhancements made to the Arts Council England platform have led to impressive outcomes:
The enhancements made to the Arts Council England platform have led to impressive outcomes:
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The revamped user interface significantly decreased the number of incomplete funding applications, making the process more intuitive for users.75.13%Reduction in application abandonments
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The new CMS and user-centric design propelled goal completions to new heights, demonstrating the effectiveness of the changes made to the application process.167%Increase in goal completions
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Enhanced clarity and usability on the website have resulted in a notable rise in successful applications, reflecting a positive user experience.153%Increase in conversion rates
