Over the past 60 years, the Heart Foundation has supported more than 4.5 million Australians living with heart conditions. As the organisation grew, so did its digital ecosystem — expanding into 13 separate websites and campaign sub-sites. However, this growth came at a cost: inconsistent branding, scattered content management, and rising operational expenses.
The Heart Foundation needed a modern solution that could unify its digital presence, improve user experience, and simplify content authoring across all platforms.
Objectives
Unified Design System: Establish a flexible, modular component library to ensure visual and functional consistency across all sites.
Single CMS: Consolidate content management into one scalable, headless CMS.
Improved Architecture: Build a cloud-first architecture that enables agility, scalability, and future campaign flexibility.
Content Efficiency: Empower internal teams to manage content independently, without reliance on external developers.
Challenges
Content was spread across 13 websites and multiple CMS platforms.
Inconsistent UX and branding undermined user trust and recognition.
Content duplication was common, often requiring manual input from developers or editors.
Navigation, search, and discoverability were underperforming across key pages.
Standing up new campaign sites was slow, expensive, and effort-heavy.
Approach
1. Flexible Component Library
We designed a modular, reusable component library that could be used across all Heart Foundation properties. This system ensured design consistency while giving content authors more control and flexibility.
A headless CMS was introduced to centralise content authoring. This allowed teams to manage and publish to multiple sites from a single platform, greatly reducing manual duplication and maintenance effort.
2. Scalable Architecture
A new cloud-first, headless architecture was deployed to improve performance and agility.
The strategy focused on:
A consistent user experience across all sites
Rapid deployment of new pages and campaign sites
Reduced reliance on third parties for content updates
Elimination of licensing costs tied to multiple CMS platforms
3. Prioritisation and Deployment
A cross-functional squad worked in dual-track to progressively release redesigned pages, aligning delivery with business priorities. This allowed us to maintain momentum, avoid bottlenecks, and manage the migration of over 1,500 content pages without disruption to the live ecosystem.
Outcomes
One CMS to Rule Them All: Content for the Heart Foundation’s digital presence is now managed centrally, with the core site and My Heart, My Life Walking site already live.
Consistent Brand Experience: Users now enjoy a cohesive UX and visual identity across all websites and campaign pages.
Faster Campaign Delivery: New sub-sites and pages can be launched rapidly using pre-built components.
Improved Metrics: Increases in average time on site and page views per session demonstrate stronger engagement.
Content Independence: Internal teams now have full control over content without needing developer assistance.
Scalable for Growth: The new system sets the foundation for continued digital expansion without added complexity.
Conclusion
This project marked a major shift for the Heart Foundation’s digital strategy. By moving to a headless architecture and implementing a scalable design system, we helped unify a fragmented web presence, empower internal teams, and reduce long-term operational costs. The result is a flexible and future-ready digital ecosystem that continues to support the Foundation’s mission at scale.
