Behind The Build: Redesigning the Chester Bluecoat Charity Website
At Roodee Web Design, we recently had the pleasure of working with one of Chester’s longest-standing organisations, the Chester Bluecoat Charity, on a full website redesign.
The original website had been built using a page builder (Elementor). While tools like Elementor can appear straight-forward at first, they often create more problems than they solve when it comes to long-term usability. The Bluecoat team found the site increasingly difficult to update. Even basic content changes or layout adjustments often required help from a designer or developer, and the backend was cluttered and confusing.
The charity had recently updated its branding, with a new colour palette and visual assets, so our role was to create a new website that incorporated that branding while being much easier to use and maintain.
A User-Focused Redesign
As with all of our website projects, we began by creating a new sitemap. This ensures visitors can easily find what they’re looking for, whether it’s information about the charity hub, details about grants, applying for almshouse accommodation, or how to get in touch.
From there we moved into homepage design, setting the tone for the entire site. We used a hero image from the Bluecoat’s archive, placed above a strong headline and a photograph our team took of the charity’s iconic entrance on Northgate Street. Just below that are three clearly defined routes into the main areas of the site: Charity Hub, Grants, and Almshouses. Each one has its own colour theme and custom icons, all created in-house by Sam at Roodee.
Further down the homepage, there are personal stories from people the charity has supported, a latest news section that’s simple to update, and a sign-up form for email updates.
At the bottom of each page, you’ll also find another of our team’s bespoke illustrations of Chester landmarks, including the Eastgate Clock, the Cathedral, Chester Racecourse, and Chester Zoom. This illustration ties the site to the community it serves.
A Cleaner, Simpler Editing Experience
One of the most important changes we made was to the WordPress admin experience. Unlike the previous Elementor-built site, the new backend is clean and focussed. When editing, only the content that needs changing is visible. This avoids the confusion that often comes with web-builder and drag and drop systems and makes updates much easier for the Bluecoat team.
Each of the main sections (Charity Hub, Grants, and Almshouses) follows the same consistent layout and editing format, with only the content and colours changing.
Content and Functionality
Given how active the Bluecoat team is on social media, we built the Stories section of the site as a standard blog. This allows for regular updates, each with a featured image, an excerpt, and a clear call to action.
Training Videos
As always, we provided a full set of training videos showing the Bluecoat team how to manage the site, add new content, and carry out essential tasks, ensuring the website remains easy to update now and when new team members join.
If you’re a charity, business or organisation in Chester looking to improve your online presence, we’d be happy to cast a fresh set of our ‘Award Winning’ eyes over your website.
You can reach us on our contact page.