Mixed Migration Hub Increases Global Reach by 58%

• Fragmented presence and mixed messaging – Institutional pages, project microsites, and PDFs lived in different places. Visitors struggled to find authoritative, up-to-date material; institutional impact was diluted.
• Poor performance and user friction – Pages loaded slowly on mobile and low bandwidth networks a major problem when the audience includes field workers and mobile users in regions with limited connectivity.
• Limited language support – Critical content was predominantly in English, restricting access for communities and partners who rely on local languages.
• Low discoverability for research outputs – Reports and datasets were not optimized for search engines or research aggregators, reducing citation and policy impact.
• Cumbersome editorial workflows – Researchers and communications staff used multiple tools to publish content. Publishing a new report required manual formatting, upload, and quality checks across systems.
• Security and sustainability concerns – Dependence on proprietary plugins and a monolithic hosting plan created long term maintenance costs and vendor lock in risks.
• Accessibility gaps and compliance risk – The previous site failed to meet accepted accessibility standards, limiting access for visually impaired or cognitively diverse users and creating inclusivity concerns.

These pain points highlighted the urgent need for modern web development and CMS modernization, underpinned by quality assurance and accessibility testing.

• Open-source foundation – We implemented a modular, open source CMS stack so the Hub owned its technology. Code, components, and deployment scripts were documented and contributed back to a private repository for partner reuse.
• Information architecture & editorial model – Content was reorganized into clear channels: Reports & Data, Country Profiles, Operational Guidance, News & Analysis, Resources for Communities, and Events. Templates and metadata schemas ensured consistent publishing across sections.
• Multilingual publishing – The site supports six languages on launch, with streamlined translation workflows and in platform language toggles so readers can find native language resources quickly.
• Accessibility first – We implemented WCAG 2.1 AA design and testing: semantic HTML, keyboard navigation, alt text governance, colour contrast checks, and ARIA attributes. Accessibility testing was integrated into the CI pipeline.
• Performance & offline resilience – A content delivery network (CDN), image optimization, lazy loading, and aggressive caching reduced payloads. Low bandwidth fallbacks and an HTML text only mode ensure pages remain usable on slow connections.
• Secure, compliant donation & partner forms – PCI compliant donation integration, tokenized payments, and GDPR aware consent flows made it easy for supporters to give, while protecting donor data.
• Research friendly features – Reports include machine readable metadata, DOI style permalinks, structured data for search engines, and bulk download bundles for datasets to facilitate reuse by researchers and policymakers.
• Streamlined editorial workflows – Researchers can draft, peer review, and publish in one system. Automated style checks, templated report pages, and one click export to PDF lowered publication friction.
• Analytics & dashboards for impact – A lightweight analytics layer tracks resource downloads, geographic reach, language uptake, and referral sources enabling evidence led outreach and fundraising decisions.
• Sustainability & capacity building – We trained the in-house team, provided deployment runbooks, and set up a small footprint hosting plan to keep recurring costs low and transfer control to the Hub.

• Global reach grew by 58% – Organic traffic from non-English regions and partner portals increased substantially as multilingual pages and SEO optimized content took effect.
• Donation conversion up 35% – Streamlined giving flows, clearer impact messaging, and trust signals (verified reports, DOIs) improved donation completion rates.
• Resource downloads doubled (+110%) – Better discoverability, structured data, and easy dataset bundles made reports and tools far more reusable.
• Average page load time fell from 6s to 1.6s – Performance optimizations and CDN use created a noticeably faster experience for field users and desktop audiences alike.
• Bounce rate reduced by 28% – Cleaner navigation and relevant landing page content kept visitors engaged longer and drove deeper interactions.
• Time to publish new reports shortened by 80% – From manual, multi tool workflows to a single editorial pipeline: publishing a major report dropped from several days to a few hours.
• Volunteer and stakeholder signups increased by 46% – Easier event pages, clearer calls to action, and localized content boosted engagement among researchers, volunteers, and partner organizations.
• Operational costs down 36% annually – Open source stack and simplified hosting lowered license fees and vendor dependency, freeing budget for program work.
• Accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA) achieved – The site met audit criteria, reducing risk and improving usability for a broader audience. 

These figures were validated through analytics, server logs, and stakeholder feedback during the rollout and early adoption phase.