Working Together: The Launch

At the start of November 2021, The Carers’ Centre’s new website was nearly built and the content definitely in progress, we looked good for our original site launch date of the 22nd. The big event! However it didn’t quite work as we’d expected. Here’s our experience of a site launch and the challenges it can pose, with some tips and guidance from our partner Digital Wonderlab!

Leading up to the web launch

We knew we were cutting it fine with the launch. There were a few issues around web forms and processes which meant that Digital Wonderlab weren’t able to work as quickly on these bits of the site as they’d have liked. We weren’t quite as experienced at creating in Umbraco, the content management system, as we’d have liked. In the heat of a deadline, communication could have been clearer. So — you could say it was a bit stressful!

The one thing we had in our favour was that we hadn’t tied the web launch to a specific event or date. If we needed to delay, we could. As the date got closer two things became clear. The content was good, but could be better. The form processes hadn’t been tested, to check if you could join the centre; sign up for activities or refer someone you know to what we offer. The key question was should we launch without testing, or delay to enable testing to happen?

As you might have guessed from our approach to testing so far, we decided to delay. Far better to ensure the forms worked, and did what we wanted, before we launched. Thursday 25th was set as the new date. Testing was completed. The processes didn’t work as they needed to. We needed more development, and further testing. Thursday 25th wouldn’t be achievable. Friday isn’t a good day to launch as issues can run over a weekend. So Monday 29th it was. OK, so when the switch actually happened it was the morning of Tuesday 1st December, but close enough.

Some of the experiences we had are not uncommon for Digital Wonderlab:

“Launch day can be stressful if changes are requested last minute or content isn’t available and when the launch date is immoveable. When we plan, we always like to have a clear week for testing before release and as Janine says, we never launch on a Friday. I think people are tempted to eat into this testing time however don’t underestimate the importance of this time, as it ensures everyone is in the headspace of testing, rather than creation and it provides reassurance to all stakeholders that everything is working before go live. That said, that is not always possible and changes sometimes need to be made, for example when clients receive new information/demands/requests from other stakeholders and pivots need to be made. We will always pull out the stops for a fixed launch date but it might be a little bumpier than we’d like! In an earlier blog Janine made the comment that getting stakeholder buying up front from people within the organisation was vital and our experience is that delays to launches can often occur due to changes when stakeholders, who have not been directly involved in the project become involved too near the end of the projects.” Laura, Digital Wonderlab

Not what went wrong, but how do we fix it?

Not exactly the smooth sailing we had anticipated for launch! Yet we got there eventually, and I think what got us over the line given some key challenges we faced was not looking at why we were having the challenges but how we could resolve them. The forms hadn’t been ready to test as early as we’d wanted. Why? It doesn’t matter — what matters is what we do now. Something in the process isn’t working. Is this because we weren’t clear enough in what was needed or the developer hasn’t quite sorted the code? It doesn’t matter — what matters is how we fix it.

Very specifically I remember a conversation with Kim, our project manager, about what our options were when we were considering delaying until Monday 29th. It was a quick phone call, but it was key. We laid out the options, the risks, and discussed what would be best for the project. So we decided to delay. There was no blame or challenge — it was solely focussed on what the project needed to be successful.

That’s not to say it was easy! Both partners wanted to hit the original launch date and it’s difficult when things happen to mean this isn’t going to be possible. But the key is working out a plan which means you can still launch the site you want, as quickly as you want — which for us meant delaying so we could get the testing right.

“Being solution focussed and working together to get you over the line is key. When we started this project we spoke about the importance of honesty and true collaboration, and when things are not going to plan this is when you know whether both parties are signed up to this and we were. Every conversation was focussed on what do we need to do to make this happen, how do we need to adapt and move forward well. What can we afford to drop before launch and what are none negotiable. Testing is non-negotiable! The focus for the new website has always been the user and this is what should drive your prioritisation.” Laura, Digital Wonderlab

The big reveal

How do you launch a new website these days?! I know in the past I’ve been to big reveal events where the website has been shown to key stakeholders, but that didn’t seem required, or even sensible given the current climate. In addition to which, we knew this wasn’t our final product. This is the start of our journey — the platform on which we can build our digital presence to deliver new content, tools and services for unpaid carers and their support networks. In fact, we’re more interested in asking people who visit the site what’s missing, what we can improve, to help us on our digital transformation journey.

Still — we wanted to do something, so we’ve opted for a softer launch, getting the message out to our key stakeholders and slowly spreading the message that we’re starting to change how we support people online. We also made sure we created a feedback mechanism to ensure these stakeholders could tell us what they thought!

The final product

And this is it! Our modern, uncomplicated, user-centred site. It delivers many of the goals we set out to achieve, but still has lots of room for us to grow and improve how we support unpaid carers across Bath and North East Somerset.

What’s next

As you might have guessed, this is not the end of the story. Firstly, there are a few niggles on the site we want to perfect to make sure the user journeys as good as they can be. Secondly, we’re receiving feedback from users which we want to consider to see how we can improve the user journey’s even more. Thirdly, we need to set up monitoring — there is no point having a great new site if we aren’t ensuring it’s delivering against key goals for users. We’ve got a lot to learn about Google Analytics! And finally, once we upgrade our current CRM (database), there are new tools and services we will be working on with Digital Wonderlab, to enable us to further support carers through the site. The launch is definitely just the start!

“Launch day is just the beginning! A marker in the sand by which to continue your development. What is great about The Carers’ Centre is that they have immediately asked for user feedback, so they have set the tone that they are there for their users and will adapt and evolve in response to their voices and the data from Google Analytics. Your website should not be an island and their future ambitions to integrate systems such as CRM and explore new services makes their website an integral tool in their digital transformation and growth.” Laura, Digital Wonderlab