Pentrich Revolution Group: Modern Website for a Historical Project

Project Overview and Challenges

Pentrich Revolution Group’s website had long outlived its design and technological capabilities. Not only was it riddled with bugs and navigation issues, but it was also built on an outdated custom platform. The need for a hosting migration became urgent after the demise of their previous US-based partner. However, our initial review quickly revealed that simply moving the site would not suffice. The website required a complete redesign to meet modern standards while preserving its rich historical context.

Planning the Redesign & Hosting Transition

Maintaining Familiarity with Structure

The original site’s structure was haphazard, lacking a clear hierarchy, yet it housed a large number of pages and multimedia assets crucial to the organisation’s mission. To ensure minimal disruption in user experience and to avoid any negative impact on search engine indexing, we opted to retain a similar URL structure. This approach allowed the committee to navigate the new website with the same familiarity as before, ensuring a smooth transition.

Asset Migration Through Custom Scripting

One of the key challenges was the migration of hundreds of pages along with their associated images and videos. With limited access to the original assets due to the outdated custom build, we turned to technology for a solution. We utilised Screaming Frog to crawl the entire website, identifying every file and folder. Following this, we developed a custom script that fetched each page and downloaded all assets, preserving the original folder and file structure. This technical approach ensured a seamless migration, allowing the new website to reference all assets using the same relative paths as before.

Modernising the Design and User Experience

Visual and Functional Enhancements

Our primary goal was to bring the website into the 21st century without stripping away its historical character. The redesign focused on improving page load speeds, enhancing security, and delivering a more intuitive user experience. We maintained the content’s integrity while applying modern design principles that make the site both visually appealing and highly functional.

Typography That Resonates with History

A significant part of the redesign was choosing typography that captured the organisation’s historical essence. After careful consideration, we selected a pairing of Yeseva One for headings and Josefin Sans for body text. This combination provided a distinctive look that honoured the past while offering clarity and readability for modern audiences.

Outcomes and Visual Impact

The newly redesigned website now operates on a local hosting platform, ensuring better communication and faster load times. The modernised design not only enhances user engagement but also supports the organisation’s mission by making it easier for volunteers and visitors to access essential information.