Waddesdon Manor to have website redesigned by Cogapp
April 2010

We have been commissioned by Waddesdon Manor, one of the most famous and beloved National Trust sites in England, to refresh and redesign their web presence.

The project will see us redeveloping Waddesdon's website and online collection. The current website has grown organically and incrementally since its creation, and is now in need of a refresh. As such, we will be rebuilding the site to make it more intuitive, agile and adaptable to future changes the staff wish to make. With the Manor currently exploring new areas and exhibits (including a contemporary arts space set to open later this year), people's perceptions of the property are changing, and Waddesdon's staff need the website to reflect this change of expectations. The revitalised site will cater to both its existing visitors and open Waddesdon Manor up to new audiences.

Waddesdon Manor is home to the Rothschild Collection, and whilst some of the impressive collection is currently available online, its implementation will be improved to give it a sleeker interface and open up more content to users. We will work with the Waddesdon team to unify the collection's online presence and create an easier and more informative experience. Conducting stakeholder meetings to determine the impression and feel they want Waddesdon's site and collection to have will allow us to cater to their needs and create an online collection that does justice to the physical objects themselves. With a fantastic and ever expanding Collection, we will integrate their collection management system VERNON into the site's architecture. This improved structure will work with the site's new content management system to create a much easier back-end for the Waddesdon website team to manage and a more streamlined front-end for visitors to experience.

Work has already begun on the project through us conducting discovery meetings with stakeholders ahead of the wireframing, design and technical work to be completed by the end of the year.