Background
In 2023, Demelza rebranded, but their digital home didn’t keep pace. The website had been merely "reskinned," leaving deep-rooted issues with structure and accessibility untouched. Our discovery phase, including GA4 analysis and family research sessions, highlighted critical pain points:
Confused Navigation: Essential services were hidden, making it difficult for families to find help during urgent times.
Mobile Failures: The site was not fully responsive - a major barrier for users in hospital settings where mobile is the primary device.
Friction-Heavy Journeys: Basic interactions were over-complicated; signing up for the lottery took seven steps, and referral forms were manual and daunting.
CMS Frustration: The backend was inflexible, making it hard for the team to share urgent updates with families.
The site was underperforming against every core goal. It lacked the professional yet approachable feel needed to build immediate trust, making it clear that a total digital transformation was required.
Solution
We moved Demelza to Umbraco 13, creating a platform that is as easy for the internal team to manage as it is for the public to use. The core design concept, "Inclusive Warmth," uses the brand’s vibrant palette to create an environment that feels like an extension of the hospice’s physical care.
Visual Craftsmanship & UI Detail:
Challenging Conventions: We used joyful corals and teals to shift the narrative from “clinical” to “human,” using smooth transitions to keep the site modern without overwhelming the user.
Rounding Away the Clinical: We embraced a “softened” UI. Every button and carousel features rounded geometry to mirror the gentle environment of a hospice, while “bouncy” rollovers offer a sense of warmth.
Guided Discovery: We replaced a fragmented structure with intuitive navigation and bespoke iconography, guiding parents toward support with ease.
High-Speed Usability: Mobile access was optimized with pinned "Refer" and "Donate" buttons, ensuring support is never more than a single tap away.
Empowering the Mission: Our modular “Building Block” components allow the team to arrange content into custom layouts, ensuring the site adapts to the unique storytelling needs of every family.
Technical Integration with Purpose: We replaced manual, paper-based processes by integrating referral forms with DocuSign, reducing the burden on exhausted carers. We also streamlined the donation journey with Stripe and Tower Lotteries, reducing the lottery sign-up from seven steps to a single flow. This optimization of the 'high-stress' user journey didn't just improve feel; it improved function, contributing to the 14.83% rise in engaged sessions as users could finally navigate the site without technical friction. Finally, we managed a complex SEO migration to ensure the new foundation was optimized for performance from day one.
Search-First Architecture: We designed a site structure that Google’s crawlers instantly trusted. Post-launch, the 'Shop Demelza' subdomain established immediate authority, appearing as the primary result and even instantly being surfaced in Google’s AI Overviews. This confirms that our Umbraco 13 architecture isn't just organized for humans, but optimized for the modern future of search visibility.
“Our new website has truly transformed the way the digital team works and the way our audiences engage with Demelza. Every aspect has been designed with user journey firmly in mind, creating a seamless, intuitive experience that makes it easier than ever for families, supporters and professionals to find what they need. Behind the scenes, the functionality is just as impressive - tasks that once took colleagues hours, such as uploading results, can now be completed in seconds thanks to simple import/export tools accessible to staff at all levels. It’s an absolute pleasure to use and the whole team feels genuinely motivated and proud to have such an outstanding platform to support our work. The difference it has made to efficiency, confidence and audience experience is immense.”
Impact
The impact was immediate. Demelza’s Deputy CEO described the platform as a “transformative, beautiful tool that is faster, more inclusive, and significantly easier for families to navigate.” By putting the user’s emotional state at the heart of the design, we created a space that offers genuine utility and comfort.
Digitizing the referral process has been life-changing, shortening the time it takes for a family to receive support. Internally, the flexible CMS has empowered the marketing and care teams to react to urgent needs in real-time without needing external technical help.
Quantifiable Success:
Engagement Rate: Increased from 16.06% to 55.02% (a 242.66% increase).
Engaged Sessions: Rose by 14.83%.
Performance (Google Core Web Vitals): Our "How We Help" page scored 68, placing Demelza on par with Oxfam (69) and significantly ahead of Cancer Research UK (38).
Sustainability: The site launched with a B carbon rating, performing 76% cleaner than the industry average.
The data confirms that visitors are no longer getting lost; they are finding relevant information and successfully completing journeys, whether finding bereavement support or signing up for a fundraiser.
Sustainability
Sustainability was a core pillar of the design, focusing on high performance and low environmental impact. Our goal was to build a site that was as efficient for the planet as it is for the charity’s budget:
Measurable Carbon Reduction: Due to rigorous optimisation throughout the project, we were pleased to see that on launch, the site held a B rating for carbon emissions and was 76% cleaner than the average website.
High-Performance Architecture: By building on Umbraco 13, we utilized a resource-efficient framework that reduces server-side processing power, ensuring stability during high-traffic appeals without excessive energy consumption.
Considered Asset Optimization: We utilized modern, compressed formats (like WebP) and "lazy-loading" to ensure data is only transferred when necessary. This significantly reduces page weight and minimizes the carbon footprint of every visit.
The "Elevator" Methodology for Durability: Our modular approach created a library of reusable code components. This reduces resource consumption and ensures the site is future-proof, allowing Demelza to evolve their digital presence without a carbon-heavy full redesign.
Operational & Financial Sustainability: By designing an intuitive "self-service" CMS, we have reduced the resource drain on the charity, ensuring more funds are directed toward frontline care.
“Launching our new website last year was a major step forward in our digital journey and we are absolutely delighted with the result. It’s a faster, more accessible and more user-friendly site which better reflects Demelza’s identity and aligns with our mission. The decision to redesign the site was part of our five-year strategy to increase the use of digital technology across our organisation and we wanted the site to be more inclusive and intuitive. The new site has made it easier for families to connect with us, is helping healthcare professionals refer to Demelza more efficiently and is supporting our efforts to attract new supporters, staff and volunteers. It was a truly collaborative effort, both internally across Demelza and of course working closely with our incredible developers Yoyo Design”
