An award-nominated Umbraco website centred around an innovative Find a Therapist service, helping more people access trusted psychotherapy support through an audience-led digital experience.
Summary
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) partnered with Wattle to replace its legacy website with a modern Umbraco platform designed around the needs of members, trainees and the wider public. Combining user research, UX design and systems integration, the project delivered an award-nominated digital experience that increased engagement, strengthened membership growth and made it easier for people to access trusted psychotherapy support.
Client
The UKCP is one of the UK's leading professional bodies for psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Representing more than 10,000 members and over 70 training and accrediting organisations, They promote the highest standards of professional practice while helping people find qualified therapists they can trust.
Challenge
UKCP's existing website no longer reflected the organisation's ambitions or the diverse needs of its audiences. Members, prospective trainees, policymakers and the general public all relied on the website for different reasons, yet navigating information and accessing key services had become increasingly difficult.
A key priority was transforming the Find a Therapist service. For many visitors, this represented the first step in seeking mental health support, making usability, accessibility and trust fundamental to the success of the project.
The website looks magnificent - it truly feels like us. Warm, welcoming, while authoritative and professional, it meets the visitor where they are, wherever they are coming from and guides them wherever they wish to go. It tells a very different story about UKCP to the world, about our identity, values and particularly our ambition.
Sarah Niblock, CEO, UK Council for Psychotherapy
Solution
Wattle began with an extensive discovery programme, combining audience research, persona development, user journey mapping and user testing to understand how different audiences interacted with the website. These insights shaped a new digital experience focused on improving navigation, accessibility and user engagement.
Built on Umbraco, the new platform introduced a modern information architecture, intuitive content management and a completely redesigned Find a Therapist service. Integrated with UKCP's wider digital ecosystem, the website provided a stronger foundation for future growth while enabling internal teams to manage and evolve content with confidence.
Impact
Award-Nominated Website
Recognised through nomination for Memcom's Membership Website of the Year.
Engagement Boost
Average time on page increased by 36%, with sessions up 8% and returning visitors up 3% following launch.
Audience Growth
The new Train as a Psychotherapist content attracted almost 25,000 page views, extending reach to trainees.
Membership Growth
Membership increased by 9.5% during the first year following the launch of the new website.
Website Performance
Referral traffic increased by 15%, bounce rate reduced by 20%, and average session duration increased by 13.87%.