Police Care UK

Supporting people behind the badge

Police Care UK supports serving and former police officers, staff, volunteers and their families who have been affected by trauma, injury and other challenges experienced in the course of police service. Their work spans practical support, rehabilitation, research and advocacy, helping people rebuild their lives and navigate some of the long-term impacts policing can have.

But their existing charity website no longer reflected the scale or sensitivity of that work.

Over time, the site had become fragmented and difficult to navigate, with duplicated content, outdated information and confusing user journeys making it harder for people to find the support they needed. The experience was especially challenging for users potentially dealing with stress, trauma or PTSD, where clarity and reassurance are critical.

Police Care UK needed a new charity website that would bring structure, calm and accessibility to a large and complex body of information – while also supporting fundraising, recruitment, research and awareness work.

At the same time, the organisation needed a platform that different teams could realistically manage and maintain over the long term, without the site gradually slipping back into the same fragmented state.

The Challenge

This wasn’t a project where a cleaner homepage alone was going to solve the problem.

The existing site had grown organically over a number of years, resulting in inconsistent navigation, unclear calls to action and a mobile experience that no longer met user expectations. Key support information was often difficult to locate, while content intended for very different audiences sat alongside each other without clear signposting.

Police Care UK also needed the new website to support a broad range of user needs, including:

• people seeking emotional or practical support
• family members and colleagues looking for guidance
• donors and fundraisers
• researchers and partner organisations
• journalists, job applicants and suppliers

Many users would be arriving at the site looking for practical guidance or support, so the experience needed to feel clear, supportive and easy to navigate.

There was also a significant structural challenge behind the scenes. Different sections of the organisation had different content priorities, while support resources, fundraising activity, research, news and organisational information all needed to work together within one coherent platform.

Our Approach

We started with discovery workshops, analytics reviews and a detailed audit of the existing website and wider digital estate. That process helped identify where users were struggling, where content had become duplicated or fragmented over time, and where important support pathways were getting lost.

It quickly became clear that the biggest issue wasn’t simply visual design – it was structure.

Over the years, the site had become difficult to navigate, with key information spread across too many sections and pages. In some cases, users looking for support weren’t getting obvious next steps quickly enough. 

Working closely with stakeholders across the organisation, we restructured the site around clearer user needs and priorities. Navigation, taxonomy, search and content hierarchy were all reconsidered to make information easier to find and less overwhelming to navigate.

We rebuilt the site in WordPress with a much clearer structure, making it easier for people to move between support information, fundraising, research and organisational content more intuitively.

Alongside the front-end redesign, we also developed a far more flexible content management system using reusable page components and modular content types. This gives different teams across Police Care UK the ability to manage and evolve content more consistently over time, without needing to rebuild layouts or create entirely new templates whenever content requirements change.

We also consolidated content spread across different parts of the organisation, helping create a more joined-up experience across support, fundraising, research and organisational information.

On mobile – where a large proportion of users now browse – the experience is dramatically cleaner and easier to navigate than the previous site.

The Outcome

The finished website gives Police Care UK a far clearer and more flexible digital platform than they had before.

Support information is easier to find, user journeys are more straightforward, and the overall experience feels calmer and less overwhelming. The improved structure also makes it easier for the charity to present a large amount of information without users feeling swamped by walls of copy or confusing navigation.

Key improvements include:

• clearer navigation and content hierarchy
• improved signposting to support services and resources
• a cleaner and more accessible mobile experience
• flexible page layouts and reusable content components
• improved search functionality and filtering
• stronger foundations for fundraising and reporting
• a scalable platform designed to evolve alongside the organisation

The project also leaves Police Care UK in a far stronger position for future development, with a website structure that is easier to maintain, expand and adapt as the organisation’s services continue to evolve.

What’s Next

The new platform has been designed to grow alongside Police Care UK’s future digital plans and wider organisational strategy.

Future enhancements may include expanded self-service tools, deeper CRM integrations, improved supporter journeys and additional accessibility and optimisation work – helping the charity continue improving how people access support and information online.

We’re proud to support charities and organisations working in complex and emotionally sensitive spaces, helping create digital experiences that are clearer, calmer and easier to use.

To find out how we can help you, please drop us a line.

www.policecare.org.uk