Re-architecting a content-rich Drupal website for a major organisational rebrand
Trades Union Congress (TUC) required a full redevelopment of its main website to support a new digital identity ahead of its 150th anniversary.
The TUC is a major national organisation representing millions of working people through its member unions. Its website plays a central role in communicating policy, research, campaigns and resources to its wide audience of members, partners and the public.
With a significant anniversary approaching, the organisation planned a comprehensive rebrand and website refresh to ensure its digital presence reflected its evolving role and remained accessible to modern audiences.
As a large membership organisation, the TUC publishes extensive digital content covering campaigns, research, news and policy. Its website acts as a key platform for engaging with members and supporting its wider mission of improving working life.
OWA has worked with the TUC since the early 2000s, delivering a wide range of digital projects including web applications, mobile apps and hosting services. Over time this relationship has supported the ongoing growth and development of the organisation’s digital presence.
When the TUC began planning a major rebrand ahead of its 150th anniversary celebrations, OWA was asked to help redevelop the existing Drupal website to implement the new design and site architecture while preserving the large volume of existing content.
The redevelopment required the implementation of a new visual identity and site structure while maintaining the organisation’s extensive library of existing content. At the same time, the project needed to be delivered within a strict timeframe ahead of the organisation’s annual Congress.
The new website also needed to integrate smoothly with the existing Drupal content management system (CMS), allowing the internal web team to continue managing content efficiently.
- Implement new brand identity and visual design
- Re-architect a large, content-rich Drupal website
- Maintain and reorganise extensive existing content
- Ensure compatibility with existing Drupal CMS workflows
- Deliver redevelopment ahead of a fixed public launch deadline
Achieving these goals required careful collaboration between the TUC's team, its external design partners and OWA's development specialists.
OWA worked closely with the TUC and its external design partners to implement the new visual identity and content structure within the organisation’s existing Drupal platform. Early collaboration helped identify how the proposed designs would affect both the front-end user experience and the back-end content management workflows.
A new set of Drupal templates was developed to support the redesigned layouts while maintaining compatibility with the existing CMS environment. At the same time, we designed a process for restructuring and repositioning the website’s large volume of content so it aligned with the new information architecture.
Custom modules were updated where necessary to ensure full compatibility with the new templates and site structure. Once the redevelopment was complete, the platform was thoroughly tested in a staging environment before being successfully launched ahead of the organisation’s annual Congress.
The redeveloped website delivered a modernised digital platform that supports the organisation’s evolving communications needs:
- New digital identity implemented across the main website
- Improved information architecture and content structure
- Modernised Drupal templates supporting updated layouts
- Successful migration and reorganisation of large volumes of content
- Website launched ahead of the annual Congress deadline
Large organisations often need to modernise their websites while preserving extensive existing content and established CMS workflows. A carefully planned redevelopment approach allows new designs and structures to be implemented without losing valuable content or disrupting editorial processes.
- Implement rebrands across complex content-rich websites
- Re-architect Drupal platforms without losing existing content
- Introduce new design systems within established CMS environments
- Coordinate redevelopment projects with external design partners
- Deliver website relaunches aligned with key organisational milestones
Whether you’re looking to create a new application or facing legacy system challenges and performance bottlenecks, we're here to help.
UK-based design and development
Project planning and scope definition
Technical architecture recommendations
Migration strategy for legacy systems
Fully managed UK-based hosting and support
