Education Cannot Wait

The Client

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the United Nations' global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. The organization supports quality education outcomes for refugee, internally displaced, and other crisis-affected girls and boys, so no one is left behind. ECW collaborates closely with governments, public and private donors, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and other humanitarian and development aid actors for expanded support to reach vulnerable children and youth.  

The Situation

ECW experienced a noticeable customer gap and designed a clear set of business goals to rejuvenate its digital landscape in response. The organization wanted to reimagine the website with a user-centered, intuitive design that would resonate harmoniously with the audience. But its revamp would be more comprehensive than aesthetics; ECW wanted to align its digital presence with the rigorous standards set by the United Nations, a vital step in enhancing the organization's credibility and impact on a global scale.  

The Challenge

The previous ECW website was marred by outdated design and user-unfriendliness, failing to adequately address the evolving requirements of its expanding audience. Data presentation was inefficient, hindering user engagement and preventing individuals from easily engaging and accessing information on the platform.  

ECW also needed to streamline its content management. The original site made it difficult for content creators to disseminate information and updates effectively. And time was of the essence; in today's fast-paced digital landscape, the organization needed to quickly and cost-effectively tackle the website redesign, striking the delicate balance between efficiency and quality and ensuring the final product met high standards.

Given its growth trajectory, the organization realized that its new platform needed to be highly scalable. ECW couldn't just look at its website redesign as a short-term fix; it needed to be a sturdy, adaptable platform capable of accommodating its future expansion seamlessly.  

The Solution

ECW partnered with Vardot to transform its digital landscape. Vardot's team initiated multiple focus group sessions, bringing together diverse stakeholders to provide direct feedback that formed the cornerstone of the teams' user-centric design strategy.

Embracing a content-first redesign philosophy, Vardot strategically approached the project by focusing on the user experience. As content is the backbone of any effective digital platform, the team prioritized seamlessly integrating engaging, informative content, ensuring that the redesign was a comprehensive enhancement of the user journey and not just a superficial facelift.

The teams addressed the website's content management and data display issues head-on, implementing solutions that enhanced content management ease and efficiency while ensuring that data was presented in a clear, accessible manner. This empowered administrators with an intuitive, robust content management system that made publishing, modifying, and organizing content easier — ensuring that audiences could easily access the latest, most relevant information. 

Acquia’s solutions were integral to the new site’s success, providing ECW with a solid foundation of security, reliability, and scalability. Given the organization’s affiliation with the United Nations, data protection and adherence to international standards were non-negotiable. Acquia's enhanced security features fortified the platform against vulnerabilities, ensuring sensitive data remained secure.

Acquia's cloud-based infrastructure was pivotal in maintaining consistent high performance and availability. Even during periods of elevated traffic, the platform remained steadfast and accessible, a critical factor in delivering a seamless user experience that ECW's audience deserved. And Acquia's content management tools were equally transformative, streamlining the site update process and empowering ECW to maintain a dynamic digital presence that reflected its dynamism. 

The Results 

Since the launch of the new site, site metrics paint a picture of progress, with the site achieving significant improvement in page views, bounce rates, and session durations. Additionally, post-redesign customer feedback surveys revealed a noticeable uptick in satisfaction rates, a testament to the enhanced user experience.

The revamped site’s enhanced usability immediately transformed user behavior. Return visits increased, and positive public mentions and conversations around ECW gained momentum, reinforcing the organization's brand perception and the trust stakeholders placed in its digital presence.

The new site's content improvements offer enhanced searchability and accessibility, ensuring users can easily find the necessary information. And the modernized platform has yielded many benefits beyond the immediate digital realm — the platform's agility empowers ECW to stay responsive to emerging needs and evolving circumstances. In a dynamic landscape where priorities can shift rapidly, this adaptability ensures that ECW's digital presence remains relevant and indispensable. The website has morphed from a static entity into a dynamic and living resource, mirroring the organization's own responsive approach to its mission.