Cannock Chase Case Study
One Forest, One Website: How we consolidated a fractured digital landscape into the definitive online hub for Cannock Chase.
The Backstory
Cannock Chase is a stunning Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (National Landscape) that draws millions of visitors, locals, and conservationists alike. However, its online presence was a different story.
Information was scattered across a disorganized web of different platforms – including Forestry England, Cannock Chase Council, and National Landscapes. To make matters worse, the central, legacy Cannock Chase website was outdated and failing to serve its audience. Visitors were left frustrated, bouncing between multiple disjointed websites just to plan a simple visit or find local authority information.
The Challenge
The core challenge wasn’t just building a pretty website; it was a massive content and stakeholder consolidation project.
We needed to:
- Eliminate Digital Noise: Supersede a legacy website that was no longer fit for purpose.
- Unify Stakeholders: Respect and integrate the distinct voices and requirements of multiple major bodies (Forestry England, Council, National Landscapes) without creating a cluttered user experience.
- Create a Single Source of Truth: Build a powerful, intuitive central hub (cannock-chase.co.uk) that acts as the definitive destination for everything Cannock Chase.
The Process
To pull off a consolidation of this scale, we took a highly strategic, user-first approach:
Discovery & Auditing: We mapped out the existing, fragmented ecosystem, identifying exactly what content belonged where and what users actually needed.
Information Architecture (IA): We designed a clean, intuitive navigation structure capable of organizing diverse content—from trail maps and wildlife conservation to local council resources—into one seamless experience.
Design & Collaboration: Working closely with key stakeholders, we developed a modern, accessible, and visually stunning digital identity that honors the natural beauty of the Chase and aligns with other National Landscapes.
Development & Migration: We built a robust, high-performance platform optimized for both desktop and mobile users, ensuring fast load times for visitors accessing the site planning a visit or while out in the forest.
Results
The launch of the new cannock-chase.co.uk completely transformed the region’s digital infrastructure.
A Unified Hub: Successfully consolidated multiple streams of fragmented information into one definitive, beautifully designed central resource.
Enhanced User Experience: Eliminated user frustration with an intuitive, mobile-responsive layout that makes finding trails, updates, and local info effortless.
Streamlined Management: Provided stakeholders with a modern content management system, ensuring the site remains accurate, dynamic, and easy to update for years to come.
Stronger Visibility: the site is now more visible on search engines and in AI queries.
Client Testimonial
We have just completed and launched our brand new website
This was completed with the expert help of the website development company Bowler Hat, Birmingham.
From the initial quotation, which had a full explanation on the stages required to get to our new website, to implementing each of the stages, on award of the contract. This was done in a pragmatic and logical step by step process, to the completion of the final project. It all ran extremely smoothly and the process was professionally completed throughout.
Bowler Hat staff, particularly Andrew, were there at every stage of the project to provide help and support. Everyone has been amazing and made the whole process simple and easy, which is very important as we are such a small team.
Andrew was a constant reassuring presence, responding immediately to any queries we had during the set up. He did amendments so quickly in a professional and timely manner without quibble of fuss.
We are so pleased with the outcome. The website is easy to use, looks good and follows the brand guidelines. It includes all information we required reaching out to a variety of different target audiences. The training provided after completion was also extremely informative and useful. Knowing Andrew will be there at the end of an email to answer any issues is also of great help.
I would be more than happy to recommend Bowler Hat to other organisations as my experience working with them has definitely been a positive one. An excellent company doing excellent work.
Thank you everyone!
Samantha Hall | Communications Officer
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