Woking, Surrey, 01 November 2025 – Invuse has partnered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to deliver a comprehensive navigation and information architecture review of one of the UK’s largest professional membership websites.
The programme focused on simplifying how users find information across the ICAEW website, reducing content duplication and creating a scalable structure that can support long-term digital governance and growth. The updated navigation and structural improvements are expected to support the next phase of ICAEW’s website development, with implementation anticipated in October 2025.
Supporting a Complex Digital Ecosystem
ICAEW’s website serves a wide range of audiences including members, students, employers, policymakers and international users. Over time, the platform had grown significantly in scale and complexity, with content distributed across multiple sections and navigation reflecting internal organisational structures rather than user needs.
As a result, users often experienced difficulty locating key information. Similar topics appeared in different areas of the site, and navigation paths frequently led users in circular journeys without clear outcomes.
For a professional body providing technical guidance, qualifications and professional services, improving discoverability and navigation clarity was essential.
Addressing Navigation and Content Complexity
Invuse conducted a structured review of ICAEW’s digital information architecture, focusing on simplifying navigation and consolidating overlapping content areas.
The review identified that key topics — including audit guidance, learning resources and professional support — appeared across multiple hubs within the website. This fragmentation created confusion about which pages were authoritative and increased the maintenance burden for internal teams.
Without consolidation, the site risked continuing to grow in complexity, making it harder for users to find the information they needed quickly.
Evidence-Led UX Research
To ensure the recommendations were grounded in real user behaviour, Invuse applied a structured research and design approach combining analytics analysis, stakeholder engagement and user testing.
The programme included:
- Review of analytics and existing research insights
- Analysis of the current sitemap and navigation structure
- Stakeholder workshops and mapping sessions
- User testing across priority journeys
- Development of a proposed information architecture
- Validation of the revised structure through testing
Research focused on several key user journeys central to ICAEW’s services, including:
- Fees and subscriptions
- Student registration and placements
- Student-to-member progression
- Continuing professional development (CPD)
These journeys represent some of the most important interactions users have with the ICAEW platform.
A Task-Based Information Architecture
Based on research findings, Invuse developed a revised navigation structure built around topics and user tasks, rather than internal departmental ownership.
Key improvements included:
- Consolidation of duplicated topics
- Simplified navigation labels
- Clearer content hierarchies
- Reduction of overlapping sections
The new structure is designed to minimise the number of decisions users must make when navigating the site, helping them reach key services more efficiently.
Research across similar information architecture projects shows that simplifying navigation structures can reduce time spent completing key journeys by 15–20%.
Building Alignment Across a Large Organisation
Because ICAEW’s website is supported by multiple internal teams — including editorial, digital, library and subject matter experts — stakeholder alignment was a key component of the programme.
Invuse facilitated structured workshops and mapping sessions to:
- Clarify ownership of key content areas
- Identify duplication and overlaps across departments
- Establish governance principles for future content management
This collaborative approach ensured the proposed navigation structure was both user-focused and operationally practical for ICAEW’s internal teams.
Strategic Outcomes
The programme delivered:
- A simplified and scalable navigation structure
- Consolidated content areas with reduced duplication
- Evidence-based validation of a topics-and-tasks navigation model
- Stronger alignment across internal teams
- A clear roadmap for implementing future information architecture improvements
Together, these changes provide a stronger foundation for ICAEW’s ongoing digital development and content governance.
Jamie Garrett, Managing Director of Invuse, said:
“Large membership organisations often accumulate significant digital complexity over time. This programme with ICAEW demonstrates the value of stepping back and using research to redesign information architecture around real user tasks. By combining analytics, user testing and stakeholder collaboration, we were able to create a structure that improves discoverability for users while giving internal teams a sustainable framework for managing content.”
The project highlights how UX research and information architecture design can help large organisations simplify complex websites while supporting long-term governance and scalability.
For further information, please contact:
Paul Zimmerman
Chief Communications Officer
press@invgroupholdings.com
+44 1483 672592