Powerful domain search and customer self-service area. Happy customers returning for more.

Nominet needed a unified WordPress platform that reflected their new brand, delivered a smooth journey from domain search to ownership and wrapped structured learning around that journey. It also had to work hard for small businesses, start ups and individuals taking their first serious steps online with a .UK domain.

In discovery we looked beyond the immediate brief to understand real behaviour. Through online workshops and stakeholder sessions we mapped how people actually move from “I think I need a domain” to buying, configuring and troubleshooting it. That work clarified three core jobs for the new site: search, manage, learn. Instead of treating learning as a pre sales marketing channel, we deliberately repositioned it as aftercare that supports confident ownership.

This shift shaped the new information architecture. Content flows were designed to guide users from search to purchase, into domain management and on to FAQs and structured learning content, without dropping them between disconnected sections or legacy sites. The result is a site structure that feels intuitive and logical rather than stitched together.

Our discovery process went beyond the brief to get to the bottom of the motivations, scope, challenges and opportunities within the project. Our online workshop process was the perfect forum to fill in any gaps before we could set out to build the structure for the website.

That structure was aligned to the website’s three core functions: search, manage, learn. This meant planning content flows designed to guide users from domain search to aftercare, with the learning content becoming a natural extension of ownership rather than what was a pre-sales driver.

This clarity helped shape an information architecture that felt intuitive and logical, rather than fragmented.

There were some key departures in this project that differed from our usual project rhythm which meant we needed to learn and adapt quickly. Nominet had an in-progress redesign of nominet.uk underway, and we were handed its Figma modules to use as the foundations for our design work.

Nominet were also using WordPress’s own Gutenberg editor as the back-end build system for this and for their main .uk website. Gutenberg builds pages out of individual blocks that each decide their own layout, so there’s no single underlying grid keeping everything aligned the way traditional WordPress templates do (and the way we normally work). This meant the translation into our own grid system became a substantial challenge, and our designers and developers had to work in lockstep to ensure structure, spacing and responsiveness came together cleanly.

On top of this we also needed to integrate sophisticated tooling: a domain search tool that suggested alternatives when one was unavailable, and an Learning Management System powered by LearnDash to deliver richer learning pathways.

Together, these shaped the backbone of the new unified site.

The new .UK Domain site launched with all major functions working as one. Domain search is faster and more helpful, offering alternative routes forward. Domain management and support are easier to navigate, with a clear troubleshooting area and structured FAQs. And the new LearnDash-driven learning environment offers rich guidance to tailor-made elarning courses.

But most importantly, the user journey now reflects real behaviour rather than legacy assumptions.

Purchase, manage, learn. One pathway, one brand, one website. A platform that can grow with Nominet as their content and services evolve.