Community Interest Company Web Design Case Study

Cha Char Chimps is a community interest company (a CIC) with franchises in locations including Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. They run weekly interactive shows for accompanied pre-school children that encourage confidence, co-ordination, co-operation and more.

As a CIC, surplus profits help provide services to good causes such as children centres and not-for-profit toddler groups. Char Char Chimps has worked with the Milton Keynes Community Foundation and won awards from Netmums and Little Ankle Biters.

I worked on this project with the team at my old agency before deciding to specialise in supporting non-profit organisations.

Problem:

As a community interest company, franchising forms a part of their business model. As such, it was important that the new web design encourages new franchises to join.

As well as visits from potential franchisees, the website would need to take event bookings from parents and carers. To do this, the website would need the ability to direct users to find the most relevant (nearest and upcoming) events.

The client needed a way for each franchise to display its own information and take bookings directly. They had a booking system they wanted to use but needed it to visually feel a part of their new website.

Finally, although there was a good collection of existing photography, there were no professional brand assets. We would need to design a new logo, colour palette and more before starting on the website design itself.

Solution:

• Alongside consultancy, a new logo and brand palette was created
• The above then informed a style that became the foundation of the new website design
• We created a website that contained its own micro-sites. This enabled it to serve multiple locations and new locations could be added as the client wished. The result is that each franchise location could be customised including pricing, contact information, direct bookings and event location maps
• Event/show finder functionality was added to enable visitors to find their nearest and upcoming locations
• The booking system was integrated and branded to fit with the website design
• A franchise webpage was created and a bright ‘franchise’ button added to the main navigation.

Results:

“…To say that we are extremely pleased with its functionality and presentation is an understatement. The team are very approachable, professional and proactive in their account management and customer service. Our objectives were exceeded and the project has been
delivered seamlessly and on time…” – Cha Char Chimps.

We launched the new website with excellent reviews from the client and their customers. Since launch, they have had several new franchises sign up and are successful in gaining bookings through the website. The new logo and brand graphics were well received and have been utilised throughout their social media channels.

In need of a new CIC website? Get in touch for your free no-obligation consultation.