Creating Clearer Routes for Different Learners

We restructured the University website around distinct HE and FE journeys. Working with UCB's team and its design direction, our implementation connected the organisation of content with the navigation and visual cues visitors use to find their way.

The website development covered section settings, navigation groupings and page templates, with styling applied according to the area being explored. This provided a consistent way to distinguish University from College and Sixth Form provision within the same website.

Making that context visible was central to the approach. Visitors needed to recognise the area they were in and understand how to move to another route when their interests took them elsewhere.

Helping course searches lead somewhere useful

The next phase focused on the details of finding and comparing courses. It addressed filter counts that did not accurately reflect the results, the behaviour of filters after a new search, and the presentation of study options on course cards.

The refinements covered filtering by course intake, separating full-time and part-time indicators, and simplifying the Clearing filter setup. These changes focused on the information prospective students need to narrow their choices: what they can study, when they can start and which study pattern suits them.

Searches returning no results received particular attention. The work included a contextual link between Sixth Form and College searches, alongside bringing those areas together within search. The aim was to offer a useful next step when a visitor's current search did not reveal the courses they were looking for.

Improving the Mobile Experience

Mobile first web design and navigation formed a dedicated part of the programme. Our work covered a clear switch between the University and College & Sixth Form areas, a collapsible menu with a logical hierarchy, and consistent audience labels and visual cues.

Course cards also needed careful treatment on smaller screens. Our work covered spacing, the arrangement of study-option labels and how to indicate additional information when every label could not be shown at once.

Accessibility requirements informed the mobile implementation, including tap targets, colour contrast and keyboard navigation.

The emphasis was on making the navigation and course information usable across different ways of interacting with the site.

Giving the content team practical control

The audience structure also had to work for UCB's content team. We included configurable navigation blocks, section settings and search components within Umbraco, with a reusable course-search block designed for flexible placement.

Those controls supported a consistent presentation while allowing editors to adapt navigation and signpost relevant information as recruitment priorities changed.

The delivery approach used staging reviews and acceptance testing with UCB. This connected technical implementation with feedback from the people responsible for the website and provided a structured way to refine the experience.