Renewing a Public Service Without Taking It Offline

The service needed to change without a big-bang replacement

The website had become harder to maintain and improve, but replacing everything at once would have created unnecessary risk. Applicants still needed dependable access to existing information and forms, while the programme team needed to keep publishing updates throughout the work.

• Businesses still needed uninterrupted access to programme information and applications
• The content team needed to keep updating the website during the renewal
• Only selected journeys were being redesigned, so new and existing pages had to work together
• Public-facing information needed to remain clear, accessible and dependable

Renew the highest-value journeys first

The renewal was planned in stages so the delivery team could improve the highest-value pages, keep proven pages running and release changes without putting the whole service at risk. The programme team retained control of day-to-day content, so routine updates did not need to wait for a developer.

Staged Renewal

Improved priority journeys while keeping the rest of the service available

Content Control

Preserved a familiar editing workflow for the programme team

Consistent Experience

Made redesigned and existing pages feel like one website

Safer Releases

Introduced a repeatable launch process so changes could be checked before going live