Case study: Global website relaunch
The challenge
The British Council’s arts portfolio was split across multiple websites aligned to internal team structures. The main site was outdated, text-heavy, and difficult to navigate, leading to high bounce rates, low engagement, and poor international reach. Users struggled to find content, and visual storytelling was underused—despite being central to the arts.
The goal
To create a single, visual-led global arts website that made it easier for audiences to engage with the full breadth of British Council arts activity—from architecture and design to literature, festivals, and residencies. The aim was to improve user experience, drive international traffic, and reflect the organisation’s brand more effectively.
My role
I collaborated with colleagues across global teams to shape the strategy and content plan for the new site—securing regional buy-in, auditing and consolidating content from multiple sites, and co-creating user personas and journeys. I worked closely with developers on structure and UX, led on copywriting and image selection, and defined KPIs to track engagement.
The solution
We launched a centralised, audience-first global arts site that:
Brought all content under one domain, making it easier for users to discover and navigate
Used bold visuals and clear navigation to showcase international programmes
Simplified the structure around user needs rather than internal teams
Highlighted stories, opportunities, and events in a dynamic, mobile-friendly format
Results
Bounce rate dropped by 18% in the first three months
Pageviews per session increased by 22%, indicating better user engagement
International traffic grew by 30%, with notable increases from Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America
Positive internal feedback from global colleagues who now had a clearer platform to share their work