Understanding the challenge
The CHS Alliance website was one of the organisation’s most important communication and engagement tools.
It provided guidance, standards, events, reporting, and membership services to humanitarian and development organisations operating globally. But while the existing website had served the organisation well initially, it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and evolve.
Built in 2015 on the lesser-known Nifty CMS platform, the site lacked the flexibility and scalability needed to support the organisation’s long-term ambitions. Key user journeys, particularly membership applications and event registrations, were overly manual and time-consuming for both staff and users.
There was a clear opportunity to improve usability while also reducing operational overhead.
More importantly, simplifying these processes supported the organisation’s broader mission: helping humanitarian organisations focus more of their energy on supporting vulnerable communities and upholding Core Humanitarian Standards.
Research, structure, and usability
We approached the redesign as more than a visual refresh.
The existing site contained a large volume of important resources, guidance, reports, and organisational content that needed clearer structure and navigation. Improving discoverability became a central part of the project.
Working closely with stakeholders, we reviewed how users interacted with the platform and identified areas where friction or confusion existed. Membership registration and event sign-up were prioritised early due to the administrative burden they created internally.
The new platform simplified these journeys considerably, making it easier for organisations to apply for membership, register for events, and manage interactions online without relying on fragmented offline processes.
At the same time, the redesign modernised the overall user experience and made the platform feel significantly more approachable and accessible.
Designing for long-term sustainability
A key priority was ensuring the platform could evolve with the organisation over time.
We rebuilt the website using WordPress, giving the CHS Alliance a far more flexible and maintainable content management system that internal teams could confidently manage themselves.
The platform also introduced richer data visualisation features to better communicate reporting and standards-related information in a more engaging and understandable way.
Rather than treating technical implementation separately from usability, the project balanced both simultaneously. Every decision aimed to reduce complexity for end users while making ongoing management simpler for internal teams.
Accessibility and continuous improvement
The platform continued evolving well beyond the initial launch.
Following an accessibility review in 2023, additional improvements were carried out to help ensure compliance with ADA expectations and WCAG AA accessibility standards.
This long-term evolution reflects one of the project’s biggest successes: the platform was designed to remain maintainable, adaptable, and useful years after launch.
Forward to 2024, and the website continues to actively support members and humanitarian organisations around the world.
Outcome and impact
The redesigned platform significantly improved how the CHS Alliance engaged with members, event attendees, and the wider humanitarian sector.
Simplifying membership management and event registration reduced friction for users while helping lower administrative effort internally. Improved navigation and clearer content structures made important resources easier to discover and use.
Most importantly, the platform created a stronger digital foundation for the organisation’s long-term mission and continued international growth.
The project demonstrated how thoughtful user experience, delivery leadership, and technical decision-making can directly support organisations working in high-impact humanitarian spaces.