MANAGED WORDPRESS
Empowering Families
With Inclusive Design
Mixd reimagines the Family Fund website, breaking down digital barriers and helping
families in need find vital support.
Site:
Industry:
Nonprofit-Social services
"Our expertise in web accessibility and user-centered design, married with WP Engine’s expert support and cutting-edge technology, allowed us to create a highly inclusive digital experience that ensures all users can easily navigate the Family Fund site and access the support they need."
— Phil Shackleton, Co-founder and Experience Director, Mixd
265%
Increase in user engagement
100
PageSpeed Insights Accessibility score
(Mobile and Desktop)
90%
Increase in site visits post-launch
The Client
Family Fund is the UK's largest grant-making charity for families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people on low incomes. The organization’s mission is to improve the day-to-day lives of these families by providing grants and services that ease daily pressures and enhance quality of life. These grants cover essential items such as family breaks, digital equipment, white goods, clothing, bedding, furniture, and play equipment.
Mixd is a user-centered digital agency specializing in accessible, sustainable websites for the public sector. Since 2004, the agency’s multidisciplinary team has focused on designing and building fast, inclusive digital services that comply with the latest accessibility standards. With deep expertise in enterprise WordPress development, Mixd transforms user experiences through research-driven design and cutting-edge technology.
The Challenge
Create an accessible, user-friendly website for Family Fund to support families with limited digital experience. The site needed to streamline complex user journeys, ensuring visitors could easily find critical support and information. The primary challenge was removing barriers to access while delivering a clear, engaging user experience.”
The Solution
Building on WP Engine’s managed platform for WordPress, Mixd redesigned the Family Fund website with accessibility at its core, prioritizing Plain English, clear signposting, and intuitive navigation. Key features—such as keyboard navigation, logical tab order, alt text, strong color contrast, and structured headings—ensure seamless usability for users with visual, cognitive, motor, and neurological impairments.
The Results
Mixd’s redesign of the Family Fund website delivered a fully accessible, user-friendly digital experience that significantly improved accessibility, engagement, and inclusivity for families raising disabled or seriously ill children.
Previously, the website posed navigation challenges for users with varying levels of digital literacy, making it difficult to access essential resources.
Mixd’s expertise in user-centered design transformed the site into an inclusive, highly accessible resource, eliminating barriers and enhancing the overall user experience.
The new site offers visitors a structured, intuitive interface with clear signposting and simplified navigation, allowing users to find vital support and information more efficiently.
"Mixd helped us to achieve a website that is impactful, accessible, and really works for our audiences."
—Louise Wood, Chief Operating Officer, Family Fund
Accessibility best practices—including keyboard navigation, strong color contrast, informative alt text, logical tab order, and descriptive text for links—ensure frictionless usability for individuals with visual, cognitive, motor, neurological, and sensory impairments.
Offscreen content and clear heading structures further enhance the experience.
The sum of all these improvements resulted in measurable success, including:
- Perfect accessibility score – The new site achieved a 100 PageSpeed Insights Accessibility Score on both desktop and mobile, ensuring compliance with the highest digital accessibility standards.
- Increased traffic – A 90% increase in site visits following the redesign, reflecting improved discoverability and user engagement.
- Higher user interaction – A 265% increase in user engagement, demonstrating the effectiveness of the new design in providing a seamless, intuitive experience.
- Greater inclusivity – The redesigned site effectively serves a diverse audience, including neurodivergent individuals, older adults, and those with limited digital experience, ensuring no one is left behind.
The project also earned Mixd a WP Engine Agency Partner Award for "Inclusive Design," recognizing the agency’s commitment to creating impactful, accessible digital experiences that remove barriers and foster greater inclusivity.
With a robust, scalable digital foundation, Family Fund is now better equipped to connect with families in need.
The new website ensures users can easily access the resources and support that make a tangible difference in their lives, reinforcing Family Fund’s mission to provide equal opportunities and improve the quality of life for families across the UK.
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