Spinal Injuries Association

Inspiring confidence 

Travel can be daunting for anyone within the spinal cord injury community, whether it’s a short UK break or an overseas adventure. The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) wanted to inspire confidence in travellers by creating an online hub full of practical advice, personal stories, and accessible travel resources.

They needed a partner who could not only design and build a technically robust and fully accessible hub, but also help shape its structure, content strategy, and long-term role as an organisational asset. That’s where Fat Beehive came in. And Travel with Confidence was born.

A close collaboration

From the get go, we worked closely with SIA as we wanted the hub to be user-focused, easy to navigate, and optimised for search.

The process

• Discovery and workshops: we ran collaborative sessions with key stakeholders from across the organisation to enable us to define their objectives, map content priorities, and identify the most intuitive way to structure the information. The decision to organise content by travel mode (train, plane, etc.) rather than injury type came directly from what we were told in the workshops. This ensured the hub would be of value to the widest possible audience.
• Stakeholder research – Using stakeholder feedback and sector expertise, we created wireframes to inform content flow and navigation.
• Technical planning – We developed wireframes with detailed annotations, specifying features for both front-end users (videos, information sheets, podcasts, fact sheets) and content editors, ensuring flexibility for future growth.
• Collaboration with design partners – We worked alongside Spinks Creative to bring the hub’s visual identity to life while maintaining the accessibility standards and functional requirements agreed in the discovery phase.

It was vital that all resources were freely available – no members-only paywall – reinforcing SIA’s mission to support everyone within the SCI community.

Delivering results

The Travel with Confidence hub is now live, offering:

• Clear, accessible guidance on travel planning
• A mix of formats – from videos and podcasts to downloadable checklists
• External resource links for specialist advice
• SEO-optimised content designed to reach beyond SIA’s existing membership

By combining strategic insight with technical expertise, we were able to deliver a hub that not only meets SIA’s current requirements, but is designed to allow for expansion, including user-generated reviews and campaigning activity.

A future-proofed solution

SIA now has a purpose-built digital platform that has the capacity to grow and evolve. With performance tracking built in from the start – including page views, return visits, and video engagement – the SIA team can make data-driven decisions about new content and features, ensuring this hub continues to empower confident, independent travel for those who need it the most, for years to come.

If you’re looking to enhance your digital presence we’d love to hear from you!

www.spinal.co.uk/travel-hub