The Client
Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard is one of the UK's longest-standing LGBTQ+ charities, providing support, community connection, and specialist services to LGBTQ+ people across Brighton & Hove and beyond. With a diverse range of programmes, from social prescribing and addiction recovery to crisis support and community training, Switchboard needed a website that could match the scale and interconnection of what they do.
The Challenge
Switchboard's previous website was running on an ageing WordPress setup, heavy with plugins that didn't communicate with each other, a hardcoded layout that couldn't flex, and no clear system for the team to manage content independently. Adding a new service or updating a staff profile meant navigating an increasingly fragile architecture. As the organisation grew, the website was slowing them down rather than supporting them.
The Solution
We rebuilt Switchboard's website from the ground up on WordPress, using Oxygen Builder as the design and template engine and Advanced Custom Fields to create a structured, connected content system. The result is a low-code platform the team can manage entirely themselves, adding services, staff, news, and resources without ever touching the design.
At the heart of the build is a relationship-based content model. Services, training programmes, documents, and call-to-action blocks can all be assigned to multiple areas of the site simultaneously, controlled through simple relationship fields in the WordPress editor. This gives Switchboard maximum flexibility over where content appears — without duplication, without developer involvement.
The site runs on four plugins. A custom design system, documented in a bespoke style guide and brand guidelines, ensures visual consistency as the team continues to grow the site independently. The entire handover, including technical documentation, a CSS class reference, and brand guidelines, . was delivered as a hosted microsite the client can access at any time.
Before - Hero Section
After - Hero Section
Before - Staff page
After - Staff page
