Communication Consultant feeds back on new website for St Augustine’s College of Theology

About This Project

Website design that takes the pressure off the client: St Augustine’s College of Theology website

Freelance Communication Consultant Ali Geake was tasked with finding a website designer who could bring the St Augustine’s College of Theology website to life.

Ali shares her experience of working with Vicky and the TukTuk team – and how a little Lego tuk-tuk toy kick-started it all.

Vicky and I originally connected in quite an interesting way.

I have this little tradition for myself – if I get a new client, I often go and buy a little Lego set. Back in early 2022, I shared a LinkedIn photo of my latest Lego set – a little toy tuk-tuk.

Because of the connection with her business name, Vicky ended up commenting. It all started from there.

Wanted: Web Designer Extraordinaire

At the time, I was working with St Augustine’s College of Theology as a communications consultant.

We were looking for someone to do their website and off the back of that interaction I’d had with Vicky, I got in touch with her. She hadn’t been referred to me and I hadn’t really seen any of her content – I just remember thinking, “Oh, you do what I need, I’m going to get on the phone”. And I’m so glad I did!

“From that first phone call, I didn’t really look elsewhere.”

My immediate impression of Vicky was that was competent, friendly, knowledgeable, and interested. She was just really personable, and her authenticity came across straight away.

From that first phone call, I didn’t really look elsewhere.

A very, very big challenge

While we knew this would be a big project, it ended up being far larger than I think any of us could’ve predicted.

I foresaw that the course pages, in particular, would pose a significant challenge. There are so many and given the previous version of the website, so much text to adapt.

Some of the pages were just blocks of text. I remember wondering, “How are we going to move away from having all this information in one place, and get it to feel like you’re on a journey through the website?”.

Another challenge was how to present the audio retreat material. When you landed on the page, you could listen to the most recent one, but you couldn’t access any previous content – it needed totally reimagining.

A web creator who doesn’t make you do all the legwork

I can’t even explain what Vicky’s done with the St Augustine’s College of Theology website, but it’s exactly what I wanted!

When I used to work for big organisations, the IT team would request a “list of requirements” if you ever wanted to change or update the website. Firstly, I’m no website designer so I didn’t know what they meant by “requirements”.

Secondly, when I did send them a list of what I wanted, they’d respond telling me that my list weren’t requirements – all without actually explaining what “requirements” meant!

Not every website developer can understand what you mean, anticipate what you need, and create what you want. If you find a website creator who can do all that, you’ve basically hit the jackpot –that’s certainly what we got with Vicky.

Prioritising the project through clear communication

Because there was so much to do, the project ended up lasting over six months. Despite that, Becky and I felt like a priority throughout.

I think it came down to Vicky’s good communication. Consistent quick replies to emails – honestly, it’s as simple as that. Everything was in this reassuring tone of voice and she’d be updating on what’s being worked on, what’s been done recently, what’s left to do, etc.

The few times something ran a little late, I appreciated that she didn’t come back being super defensive or apologetic. There were no hollow excuses, just explanation and action.

There was no culture of excuses and I always felt that the TukTuk team were forging ahead.

An embarrassingly successful outcome!

Hiring a new supplier is always a risk – and in this case, it paid off massively.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Vicky and the TukTuk team for multiple projects going forward. I know that St Augustine’s is retaining both Vicky’s and Gen’s services for various projects, which is further proof that they’ve done a really good job.

Both Vicky, Gen and the TukTuk team have managed to build the website in a way that exceeds what we even knew we had to put on a brief.

I mean, I actually think Vicky’s exceeded the brief to a point where it’s almost embarrassing!

Ali’s highlights

What Ali liked about the new website:

I do have a favourite feature – I have lots! Well, I have favourite pages.

• The study support page is my favourite page – it’s well laid out.
• I particularly liked the references throughout the course pages to “This course is for you if…” and “If this isn’t for you, go here…”.
• I think the search bar is helpful, as well as the clean navigation.
• I feel like the whole weight of the website has been taken off. It feels a lot lighter now, even if there’s a tonne of information there – and it’s not all in one place.