As part of the Netherlands’ largest childcare group, Partou have access to world-leading expertise in learning and development, so parents can be confident their child will benefit from an experience as unique as they are.
Having acquired two large nursery groups in the UK – Just Childcare and All About Children, Partou appointed Fireworx to help them merge and rebrand under the Partou brand with a new website development and customer relationship management strategy.
Partou required Fireworx to undertake a comprehensive website rebrand and customer engagement plan, to create one powerful entity. The websites for both businesses ran on WordPress, and the primary goal was to create a unified online presence that accommodates over 100 nurseries.
Partou’s move into the UK space is timely and hugely exciting. We recognised the greater emphasis and professional respect placed on those in childcare within The Netherlands and other European countries and hope to be able to support Partou in moving the UK towards that same core.
Given the number of stakeholders involved and over 100 individual nurseries, it was important for us to engage with as many of the core team as possible over a series of facilitated workshops. Through this we were able to document all of the nuances as well as imperatives from the new site development.
From customer research, we were able to define the different user groups for the sites, from existing to prospects in various stages of enquiry, and those looking for a career with Partou. We mapped out the user journeys and user experience to help facilitate a simple focus on providing information in an easy and clear way using iconography, concertina information panels and refined calls to actions.
We completed a UX audit of the Just Childcare and All About Children website and identified immediate wins – focused on building trust, reassurance and confidence for both parents, potential and existing employees. Additionally all of these directly linked into SEO and CRO growth.
Key actions included, simplifying the navigation between the organisation and the local nurseries, quality, place in the community, creating ‘friction points’ to make parents ‘stop, think and reflect’ on what’s best, with considered calls to action and journeys.
We also identified the need for a specific section for employees that would encourage engagement and likely result in parents also recognising that dedicated focus. we wanted to create a distinct look and user experience for nursery careers. Helping to attract and retain those looking to work, develop and grow as childcare professionals in the sector.
For the creative development the Fireworx design team used a mix of soft colours, rounded buttons, curved shapes and a new design language with the use of bespoke iconography, to give the site a distinctive look that was fresh and appealing in sympathy to the Partou brand identity.
Using a mix of bespoke photography and videography the design language had the objective of guiding the brand in a new direction that felt welcoming, yet professional and clear.
Custom building the site in WordPress our development team constructed it with full customisation of nursery pages based on their operating models and specific needs, with seamless integration of content and functionalities from the existing sites.
Along with a full SEO audit, implementation and GA4 configuration we are providing a long-term digital partnership for ongoing support, management, and optimisation.
“Fireworx delivered exactly what they promised, the website was not only on time, it was within budget, and having worked in the industry for a while, the whole experience was simply refreshing. The team have all been really helpful at each key stage, from the initial scoping to the day-to-day account management, they’ve calmly dealt with whatever challenges that were thrown at them. We love the new website it’s been a huge step change for the business and supports its continued growth.”
Rachael Goodman
Digital Transformation Manager, Partou