Optimising the British Council’s Educational Portal for Digital Growth 

Explore how the world’s largest educational platform improved customer experiences through intuitive and user-friendly design.

Mar 22, 2024

Client: British Council

Industry: Education Services

Services: CX Strategy & Design

Business size: Medium and Large Enterprise

Project Summary

The British Council, a leading organisation committed to spreading British culture and values worldwide, recognised the importance of expanding its digital footprint to maintain relevance in today’s digital age.

With a storied history, it operates in over 100 countries and impacts 650 million people each year, establishing a robust reputation.  

For an entity of this scale, prioritising customer engagement is particularly important, especially with a global audience. Catering to such a vast number of users poses challenges in delivering personalised experiences.

The solution lies in adopting a universal communication approach, using compelling visuals and intuitive website design.

Facing challenges, the British Council sought a technology partner to revamp its IELTS promotion website.

The existing site suffered from a lack of core functionality and responsiveness, resulting in user dissatisfaction.

Furthermore, the proliferation of unofficial test materials was harming its brand reputation.

Collaborating with Computools, the organisation aimed to develop a user-friendly, structured solution to streamline the test preparation process.

The council’s team focused on improving its user experience strategy, making the platform more intuitive and easier to navigate to meet the growing demands of clients worldwide, especially the younger audience.

Additionally, the team aimed to address resource consolidation by creating a comprehensive space that gathered all information necessary for test preparation in a single location.

Following the implementation of the solution, the British Council successfully automated workflows, gained valuable insights from data, improved visibility and saw a significant rise in platform users.

Key Challenges 

Before starting the development process, the Computools team conducted a thorough business analysis.

The goal was to pinpoint the primary challenges of the organisation and create a strategic plan to address them.

Through this analysis, the team identified three critical issues that required immediate attention.

1. Maintaining brand reputation

As a leading force in global education, the British Council places great importance on its reputation.

The Council took action when its IELTS testing website, known worldwide for evaluating English proficiency, encountered issues with unofficial test preparation resources damaging the brand.

These measures were aimed at ensuring the IELTS test continued to be globally recognised.

2. Consolidation of IELTS test preparation resources

To build a comprehensive collection of IELTS test materials, the Council looked for an efficient approach to gather, organise and streamline diverse resources.

It aimed to establish a unified and user-friendly repository, including materials like PDF files and webinar videos available to test-takers worldwide.

3. Lack of clear guidance on test preparation, progress and readiness

To draw more students to its platform, the client recognised the need to revamp its web portal to boost user satisfaction and provide clear guidance on students’ test preparation progress.

This initiative aimed to optimise the portal’s responsiveness across different devices, enabling students to prepare for their tests anytime and anywhere.

The overarching objective was to establish a user-friendly and efficient environment that aligns with the expectations of contemporary users.

Development Process

To create the client’s strategy for platform optimisation and enhanced customer experiences, the Computools team took a comprehensive approach to understanding the organisation’s core needs. 

This approach led to the creation of a structured and concise web portal which now functions as a one-stop shop for IELTS English proficiency test preparation.

Here’s how we achieved it.

Responsive Design

First, the team focused on developing a responsive design to ensure a smooth user experience across multiple devices, including both desktops and mobiles. Additionally, we optimised landing pages to enhance load times and boost user engagement.

User-Friendly Navigation

To simplify access to educational materials for users, the team developed, secured and hosted a user-friendly WordPress platform. This decision streamlined navigation, improved the editing of resources and made learning materials more accessible to test takers.

SEO Implementation

To boost the visibility and accessibility of the platform, the team actively implemented search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques for a wider audience reach. 

User Analytics Integration

Integration of user analytics into the platform allowed clients to generate comprehensive reports, offering valuable insights into user behaviour and preferences. 

Notification System

Finally, to enhance communication with the students and provide timely updates, we introduced an email notification system.

Cooperation Outcomes

By leveraging Computools’ industry expertise and combining it with the client’s vision, the project resulted in a comprehensive and innovative platform designed to provide users with an outstanding experience. 

This collaboration enabled the British Council to increase the number of tests taken globally to over 5 million in 2022, up from 3.5 million in 2018, marking a 42% growth.

Our ongoing partnership and support have led to the automation of 60% of processes through a well-structured and efficient web portal.

Improved user analytics and SEO optimisation have strengthened marketing efforts, complemented by an email notification system, resulting in a remarkable revenue increase of over 45%.

The optimisation of the British Council’s educational portal has not only maintained its prestigious reputation but also solidified its position as a leading educational institution, providing exceptional services to students worldwide.

To learn more about this story, read our case study for further insights.

WHAT OUR CLIENT SAID

What our clients from British Council say.

If you want to know how to enhance your online presence with Computools’ expertise, contact us at info@computools.com.

WHAT WE DO

Digital Optimization and Transformation

We provide a wide range of digital business optimisation and transformation services. Our experts analyse the current state of clients’ business, develop a digital transformation strategy, implement innovative solutions and future monitor and maintenance them. Clients are able to increase the efficiency of business processes, reduce costs, improve their client’s interactions and accelerate company growth through the use of advanced digital solutions.

Technology Advisory

We provide clients with expert advice on using advanced technologies, helping them make informed strategic decisions for business growth and development. Our experts analyse current technology trends, provide recommendations, and develop customised strategies. Clients increase their innovation activity, optimise their IT strategies, reduce risks and increase their competitiveness with expert knowledge and advice.

Platforms & Products Engineering

We engineer structured platforms and products that are aligned to business requirements. To do this, we analyse future product’s needs, design and develop, test, implement and provide post-implementation maintenance. Clients get increased business competitiveness through innovative digital products optimised for market or internal requirements.

Dedicated Delivery Teams

Our team of experts ensures reliable and timely completion of tasks, providing clients with ongoing support and service. We allocate teams, task them, and they plan, develop and test. The teams also provide regular updates and support. Clients get flexible and adaptive solutions to their business challenges, take minimal time to set up a team, and get a long-term and effective partnership.

Startup Software Development

We provide startups high quality software development services, speed up hypotheses testing to find market fit faster, shortening time to market and helping their products grow. We do this through collaborative ideation, MVP development, testing and scaling. By working together, clients get to market sooner and minimise risks through an iterative development approach.

Digital Optimization and Transformation

We provide a wide range of digital business optimisation and transformation services. Our experts analyse the current state of clients’ business, develop a digital transformation strategy, implement innovative solutions and future monitor and maintenance them. Clients are able to increase the efficiency of business processes, reduce costs, improve their client’s interactions and accelerate company growth through the use of advanced digital solutions.

Platforms & Products Engineering

We engineer structured platforms and products that are aligned to business requirements. To do this, we analyse future product’s needs, design and develop, test, implement and provide post-implementation maintenance. Clients get increased business competitiveness through innovative digital products optimised for market or internal requirements.

Startup Software Development

We provide startups high quality software development services, speed up hypotheses testing to find market fit faster, shortening time to market and helping their products grow. We do this through collaborative ideation, MVP development, testing and scaling. By working together, clients get to market sooner and minimise risks through an iterative development approach.

Technology Advisory

We provide clients with expert advice on using advanced technologies, helping them make informed strategic decisions for business growth and development. Our experts analyse current technology trends, provide recommendations, and develop customised strategies. Clients increase their innovation activity, optimise their IT strategies, reduce risks and increase their competitiveness with expert knowledge and advice.

Dedicated Delivery Teams

Our team of experts ensures reliable and timely completion of tasks, providing clients with ongoing support and service. We allocate teams, task them, and they plan, develop and test. The teams also provide regular updates and support. Clients get flexible and adaptive solutions to their business challenges, take minimal time to set up a team, and get a long-term and effective partnership.

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