A new and updated website for an iconic regatta
Bringing a prestigious rowing event’s online presence up to speed
Henley Women’s Regatta (HWR) is the premier rowing event for women in the UK, attracting crews from around the world. Their website serves as a key hub for competitors, volunteers, spectators, and the wider rowing community. They also provide housing race information, results, event details and more.
HWR approached Trio to modernise their website in line with evolving accessibility standards, improve the user journey across devices and assist with setting up a content management system that their team could easily update themselves.
With a major event on the horizon, the new website needed to be robust, user-friendly, and reflective of the regatta’s reputation for excellence.
The opportunity
HWR’s previous site had been in place for several years, and while it served its purpose, it was becoming difficult to manage and fell short of the latest performance and accessibility benchmarks.
The regatta’s growing international audience also meant the website needed to be faster, easier to navigate and mobile-friendly. Importantly, the site had to accommodate the huge spike in traffic that occurs during race week while still functioning smoothly.
Our brief was to create a fresh, accessible and future-proof WordPress website that gave HWR greater control over their content and ensured all audiences, from first-time visitors to seasoned competitors, could find what they needed quickly and easily.
What we did
Website design
We created a refreshed design that balanced the regatta’s heritage with a contemporary feel. This included updated typography, a cleaner layout, and greater use of imagery to showcase the excitement and atmosphere of the event.
We adopted a component-based design approach to give the HWR team flexibility when building and updating pages. This ensures the site can evolve year after year without requiring a complete redesign.
Accessibility was a key focus, with the design aligned to WCAG 2.2 AA standards. Clear navigation, strong colour contrast and structured content help make the site inclusive for all users.
Website development & migration
We rebuilt the website in WordPress using a lightweight, optimised theme for speed and performance. The old website was carefully migrated to ensure SEO equity was preserved, with all important redirects put in place.
To improve the user experience, we restructured the content so that race information, event schedules, and spectator details are easy to find. We also integrated essential third-party tools, including live race results, volunteer application forms and a donations platform.
The site was built to handle high volumes of traffic during the regatta, ensuring it performs reliably when it matters most.
Training & content management
We provided the HWR team with training on using their new CMS, empowering them to update text, images and key pages in-house. This reduces reliance on developers and allows them to make changes quickly, especially during the run-up to and during race week.
The results
HWR now has a website that reflects the prestige and energy of their event, performs well on all devices, and is accessible to a wider audience. With a flexible CMS, the team can easily keep content current, while the improved structure and performance mean visitors can find the information they need in fewer clicks.
Is your organisation ready for a website refresh?
We create high-performing, easy-to-manage websites for events, sports organisations and charities. Our team can help you modernise your online presence while keeping your unique character intact.
