About
The Faraday Institution Conference is a leading UK event focused on battery research and innovation, bringing together academics, industry leaders and policymakers to share knowledge and drive collaboration. Organised by the Faraday Institution, the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage, it showcases advances in areas such as battery chemistry, manufacturing, safety and sustainability, while fostering partnerships that help translate research into real-world impact.
The Problem
The existing website had been built using an off-the-shelf theme and page builder (Divi). While this approach can work for simpler sites (although we never recommend it), it often falls short when more bespoke functionality is required. In this case, key features such as managing conference speakers and programme content were difficult to maintain, time-consuming to update, and lacked the flexibility needed.
Over time, this led to a number of broader challenges:
- Inefficient content workflows – updating pages in the admin area was slow, manual and inconsistent.
- Performance limitations – the site had become sluggish and weighed down by redundant or outdated content.
- Accessibility gaps – several areas did not meet modern accessibility standards.
- Lack of visual consistency – design patterns varied across the site, weakening overall brand cohesion.
- Fragmented data structure – content was stored in a way that made it difficult to manage, scale or reuse effectively.
The Solution
We rebuilt the Faraday Institution Conference website using the main Faraday Institution custom WordPress theme as a foundation, leveraging a system that had already been rigorously audited for accessibility and was familiar and intuitive for the team to use. Unnecessary components were stripped back, allowing us to focus on a streamlined, purpose-built experience tailored to the needs of the conference.
To address key pain points, we introduced bespoke, structured components for managing programme content and speakers. This included a custom programme builder designed specifically for conference schedules, alongside a speaker system that links directly to sessions. Speaker profiles automatically display their associated talks and timings, significantly improving both usability for visitors and efficiency for content editors.
As with the main site, we replaced page builder layouts with a flexible, component-led approach, making content easier to manage, more consistent, and far more scalable. Existing content was carefully migrated into the new structure, reducing duplication and improving clarity across the site.
The result is a faster, more accessible and significantly easier to manage website, with a robust data structure that supports the conference both now and as it evolves in future years.
Our Impact
- Significantly improved usability – clear programme structures and speaker linking make it much easier for visitors to navigate sessions and plan their time.
- Streamlined content management – bespoke components for programme and speakers reduce manual effort and make updates faster and more reliable.
- Improved performance – a lightweight, component-led build delivers faster load times and a smoother user experience.
- Accessibility-led approach – built on an audited, WCAG-compliant foundation to ensure the site is inclusive and easy to use.
- Robust data structure – structured relationships between speakers and sessions enable content reuse and reduce duplication.
- Future-ready platform – a flexible system that can be easily adapted for future conferences and evolving requirements.
And it doesn’t stop there
We’ve been working closely with The Faraday Institution for a number of years, offering constant support and maintenance to give them ultimate peace of mind.