Working with the brilliant Thames Hospice.

This May saw the launch of the new Thames Hospice website. Thames Hospice are one of the largest and busiest hospices in the UK and we know for any charity, the correct allocation of budget and resource is crucial - and that's just in normal, non-Covid times. So to take on this website project in the third lockdown had the potential to be a risk and challenge for everyone involved. We were unable to meet in person, so all meetings and communications were online. However due to the website design and business processes that GEL Studios has moulded over time, we were still able to deliver the full website on budget and time - something we always strive for.

From early on in the website project, it was very clear that Stephanie Peters and her team were incredibly passionate about what the Hospice does and how it helps people. But more than that, they genuinely cared about the people who would be using this site. That may seem an obvious thing to say about a charity in need of a new website - but a priority for the Thames Hospice team was ensuring that key information could be found easily, whether the user was a patient, carer, healthcare professional or supporter. Many of the website users would unfortunately be going through a very tough time when needing information and it was important that a poor website experience didn't add unnecessary time, effort and confusion for these people. The goal was to provide users with the right information as quickly and easily as possible, but an important balance needed to be struck. We wanted to shine a positive light on what the Hospice do, whilst remaining sensitive to the audience types and what they are going through. We think the engaging design with improved sitemap and content structure really achieves this balance.

The website is something team GEL are extremely proud to have worked on. We've created something that will not only make a difference to website users, but to the Hospice and team as well. Admin time has been cut - meaning the team can focus more on running the Hospice and raising awareness for support. We've also made it much easier to find information on how to support the Hospice, which will hopefully result in more donations, fundraisers and volunteers. For more information on the website project - you can read our Thames Hospice portfolio entry.