ICEF.com Redevelopment

  • Year 2023 - 2024
  • Client ICEF
  • Service Website Redesign

Background

ICEF.com serves as the central hub for ICEF’s international education initiatives, connecting educators, agents, and service providers across the globe. Over the years, ICEF has become a leader in industry networking, professional development, and accreditation. However, the existing website struggled to keep pace with modern demands due to outdated design, performance issues, and a lack of scalability. A complete overhaul was necessary to align with ICEF’s mission of fostering global connectivity and providing high-quality resources for its audiences.

  • ICEF.com is essential for global networking in international education, connecting key stakeholders.
  • The platform had become a leader in offering industry-relevant information, accreditation, and professional development.
  • Despite its success, the old website couldn’t keep up with modern demands, with performance bottlenecks and scalability issues.
  • A comprehensive redesign was required to ensure ICEF could meet current and future needs and provide users with a seamless experience.
Explore the live site here

Project Overview

The redevelopment of ICEF.com was undertaken to transform it into a high-performing, user-friendly website that reflects ICEF’s leadership in the industry. The new platform aimed to integrate advanced features, improve user experience, and provide robust support for ICEF’s diverse audience base.

  • Optimise the website to maximise event registrations, ICEF’s primary revenue driver.
  • Enhance the platform’s accessibility and usability for international audiences.
  • Streamline backend operations to improve scalability and performance.
  • Establish ICEF.com as an authoritative resource for professionals in international education.

Challenges

  • Prolonged UX/UI redesign process, with repeated iterations due to evolving stakeholder expectations.
  • Extended timeline exceeding a year, driven by continuous feedback and resource challenges.
  • Overhauling legacy plugins and systems that were overly complex and inefficient.
  • Coordinating with multiple teams and stakeholders across regions, requiring constant updates and realignment.

Implementation Strategy

The project demanded a comprehensive and iterative approach to balance stakeholder priorities, technical execution, and business outcomes. Working as the primary IT Project Manager, I oversaw all phases of the project, including planning, design, development, testing, and post-launch optimisation. By integrating agile methodologies, I ensured adaptability and maintained momentum. My responsibilities encompassed,

  • Defining a structured roadmap to align project goals with ICEF’s strategic objectives.
  • Coordinating cross-functional teams, including external agencies, to streamline collaboration.
  • Overseeing the technical redevelopment using WordPress, addressing backend inefficiencies and incorporating scalable plugins.
  • Ensuring timely delivery of milestones by managing budgets, resources, and schedules.
  • Leading QA efforts to verify performance and user experience prior to launch.

Outcome

  • The successful relaunch of the ICEF.com website improved user engagement, with better UX design, faster load times, and higher SEO rankings, resulting in increased event registrations and sponsorship opportunities.
  • Post-launch, the site saw significant traffic growth and higher interaction, particularly for event bookings and user sign-ups.
  • The project’s scope continued to expand, driving continuous improvements and updates to meet growing business demands.
  • Provided over 500+ technical assistance requests to the development team, streamlining backend functionalities and helping integrate new features.
  • Enhanced operational efficiency by optimising internal processes and reducing resource allocation blockers, contributing to timely project delivery.