In May 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) unveiled a revamped website. Designed by the Communications and Engagement team, the site features user-friendly navigation, advanced search capabilities, and a customisable CMS. This upgrade enhances the centre’s online presence, highlights its research portfolio, and ensures accessibility across all devices.

Background

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is dedicated to translating scientific discoveries into treatments and diagnostics to improve people’s health. Their vision is to become a world-leading centre for translational research into inflammatory diseases. Recognising the need to elevate their online presence, NIHR Birmingham BRC wanted to revamp their website: www.birminghambrc.nihr.ac.uk.

The new site would showcase their NHS and academic partnerships and highlight their extensive research portfolio. NHS Midlands and Lancashire and NHS Arden and GEM’s collaborative Communications and Engagement team were commissioned to build the new website. In December 2023, our team collaborated with the client to gather stakeholder insights through surveys and engagement workshops. They also analysed data from Google Analytics to identify key areas of focus for the new site to achieve maximum user satisfaction.

Action

The project aimed to create a user-friendly platform that delivers comprehensive information for stakeholders and other site visitors. Key actions included:

– Implementing easy-to-use functionality for uploading reports and case studies.

– Integrating an advanced search feature with content tagging and filtering capabilities to enhance user navigation.

– Developing a streamlined, professional, and clutter-free design in January 2024, following NIHR brand guidelines. This design ensured a unique website identity while honouring the NIHR foundation.

– Incorporating clear signposting and calls to action through iterative concept testing and feedback, directing users to high-traffic content areas.

– Utilising a fully customisable WordPress content management system (CMS) to make managing site content intuitive for the client, supporting their internal team and future growth.

– Employing a six-stage approach, including developing interactive website concepts, engaging stakeholders for feedback, and reviewing items for migration using a mapping tool called WriteMaps.

Over 40 pages of content were transferred to the new site, with Yoast SEO integration to enhance search engine optimisation (SEO) for page content.

Impact

Launched in April 2024, the new NIHR Birmingham BRC website showcases their work as global leaders in their fields. It provides a seamless user journey with clear navigation and a comprehensive site search feature. The enhanced CMS functionality ensures site content can be easily managed by the client. The website’s responsiveness ensures access across all devices, complemented by built-in accessibility features to accommodate diverse user needs.

The upgraded website not only addresses previous content management limitations but also delivers a professional, fresh, and modern design interface, and improved accessibility that meets the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 success criteria.

Feedback

“The whole team at the CSU have been a pleasure to work with. Right from the start, their prompt responses, expert advice, and tailored support were invaluable. Timelines and responsibilities were clearly outlined from the start of the project, and this, together with regular meetings, was really helpful to ensure we all stayed on top of the project to deliver our new website on time. We truly appreciated the team’s friendly and professional approach and are delighted with our new website – thank you!”

Pernille Woods | Deputy Head | NIHR Birmingham BRC

Elena Pizzoli | Communications Officer | NIHR Birmingham BRC

For more information

For more information and to learn how we can help you with your website development, please contact us.