charity-Web-redesign-case-study

Voices in Exile first came to us with a focused brief. They’d secured funding from Brighton & Hove City Council to become the central hub for local ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) information, and they needed a dedicated, genuinely accessible webpage to make that happen – one that a newcomer to the city with very little English could use.

That first project set the tone for everything that followed: clear, visual, accessible design, built around the people who’d be relying on it.

The full site is here: https://www.voicesinexile.org/

ESOL project

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Once that first piece of work landed, the conversation grew. Voices in Exile were sitting on a website that had served them well but had become harder and harder to maintain – every small change meant going back to a developer, and the design had drifted out of step with their brand and their brilliant work.

So they went ahead with two further pieces of work with us: a one-off SEO package to strengthen the foundations of the site, and a full website redesign.

The most important decision we made together was how to redesign it. Rather than hand-build a set of fixed pages that would need a developer every time anything changed, we built Voices in Exile a bespoke, reusable template system – futureproofing the site so their team can build and edit pages themselves, without paying a developer for every tweak.

Homepage

Before

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After

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After

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After

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Before

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After

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Before

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After

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Before

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After

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FAQs

Before

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After

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Resources

Before

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After

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Blog

Before

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After

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After

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What we created:

  • A reusable block library. We created a library of branded, drag-and-drop content sections – hero banners, call-to-action panels, animated impact statistics, case studies, testimonials, myth-busting FAQs, resource cards, two-column features, video and embeds. Their team can now assemble or restyle any page – services, resources, volunteer roles, vacancies – from these building blocks, with no code.
  • A redesigned homepage that leads with the charity’s mission, guides people quickly to “Get help” or “Support us”, and showcases their impact, services, latest news and supporters – all editable from the dashboard.
  • A consistent brand, everywhere. A single, on-brand hero and header style now runs across every page and post type, replacing the patchwork of old layouts.
  • An “Our Work” page with animated impact counters and an editable case study, turning their annual-report figures into something that lands on the page.
  • A rebuilt News and blog experience – clean, modern article and listing cards that finally do their stories justice.
  • A redesigned, editable footer with clear navigation, a newsletter sign-up, accreditation badges and everything controllable from one global settings screen.
  • The ESOL hub, delivered from that very first brief – an accessible “ESOL in the city” page with an interactive map of local providers, filters, and plain-language guidance, all kept on-site and on-brand

“Howard helped the organisation I work for to develop a new website. He was always very prompt with communication and completed projects within tight deadlines and to the highest professional standards. We hope to work with him again soon.”

– Susan Blaylock

Voices in Exile now have a website that looks like the organisation behind it – modern, warm and credible – and, crucially, one they own. The block system means their team can create new pages, swap content, add a video, update the footer or publish a case study in minutes, without a developer and without a bill each time.

One-off SEO package

Our one-off SEO package is designed lay down the technical and on page foundations, and included:

  • Keyword research
  • SEO audit
  • Conversion tracking setup (Email clicks, Phone clicks, Donate button clicks, Get help clicks)
  • GA4 setup
  • Search Console setup
  • Metadata updates (43 pages, 61 posts, events, event archives, author archives)
  • Page speed improvements (improved performance scores from 81 to 99, accessibility from 83 to 96)
  • Header tag optimisation
  • Schema markup
  • Site issue fixes (increased health score from 69 to 99)
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SEO results

As a result of this work, we saw a positive trajectory in page 1 rankings:

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These are our current keyword rankings:

brighton refugee charity – ranks 1st
example of witness statement – ranks 1st
immigration advice brighton – ranks 1st
refugee charity brighton – ranks 1st
refugee support brighton – ranks 1st
voices in exile – ranks 1st
brighton migrant resources directory – ranks 3rd
esol courses brighton – ranks 3rd
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Howard Head. MSc

Marketing with standards.

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