Executive Summary

Merton College, Oxford University, has been synonymous with history and academic excellence for over 750 years. But behind the scenes, its digital infrastructure was quietly struggling to keep pace with its reputation. Over the years, the College’s legacy website had grown in an unstructured way, resulting in a system that was increasingly difficult for the team to manage, secure, and update. Recognising that, as an institution of such significance, an equally significant digital foundation was needed, Merton College partnered with us to thoughtfully rebuild its platform, creating a future-friendly solution.

We approached this by engineering a bespoke headless solution using Payload CMS, Next.js, and Vercel. Rather than just applying a visual refresh, we focused on Enduring Quality by establishing a meticulous Information Architecture and a sensible governance framework. Through Elegant Engineering, we introduced a modern tech stack, including highly intuitive tools like our Reference Mapping System and BuildableList, designed to make the content team's day-to-day easier. At its heart, this project was about Solving Complexity: taking a tangled, overwhelming backend and turning it into a clear, efficient space to work.

Today, Merton College enjoys a highly performant, secure, and accessible digital platform. More importantly, the communications and admissions teams now operate with true autonomy and confidence. Content can be published instantly, accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2 AA) are comfortably met, and the College finally owns a digital platform that actively supports its ambitions, rather than holding them back.

Modernising a Legacy with Confidence

How we built a robust, future-ready platform that gave Merton College’s editorial teams their time back.

The Challenge: Outgrowing a Legacy System

students, staff, and fellows. However, like many successful organisations with long histories, the College found itself working around a legacy platform that had simply become exhausted.

Built and incrementally expanded over a decade, the existing site had developed a highly complex, interconnected structure. With nearly 4,000 pages of content, the backend had lost its intuition. These weren't just technical glitches; they were the growing pains of an infrastructure that could no longer support the College's needs. Simple content updates often required developer help, leaving communications teams frustrated and blocked. Furthermore, maintaining modern accessibility standards and staying ahead of security updates had become an uphill battle. The College needed a completely new way to manage its digital estate, one built around clarity and ease of use.

Finding Clarity: Our Approach to the Platform

We began by sitting down with the team to truly understand their day-to-day challenges. We didn’t just want to audit their code; we wanted to understand how they worked, what frustrated them, and what they needed to succeed. This deep understanding was our first step toward solving complexity.

We realised early on that we needed to bring structure to the chaos. A cornerstone of our approach was designing a new Information Architecture (IA) and undertaking rigorous Content Modelling. This meant carefully sorting through years of accumulated data and giving every piece of information from faculty profiles to event listings a clear, logical home. By building this highly organised foundation, we ensured Enduring Quality. We wanted to be certain that the College could manage its content smoothly for decades to come, entirely independent of how the front-end design might evolve.

Alongside this, we mapped out a gentle, methodical migration playbook to ensure no valuable history was lost during the transition. Our goal was to help Merton College stop "renting" an inflexible system and start owning a platform that felt like their own.

Building for the Future: A Modern Headless Solution

To give the College the flexibility, speed, and security it deserved, we built a modern headless content management system (CMS). This approach perfectly captures our belief in Elegant Engineering, separating the backend data from the front-end design to create a platform that is both beautifully resilient and remarkably easy to adapt.

We chose our technologies carefully, ensuring they would serve the College well into the future:

• PayloadCMS: We chose this open-source, code-first CMS for its prioritisation of data ownership. It gives Merton College enterprise-grade power without the burden of vendor lock-in or licensing fees, creating a welcoming, centralised home for all its content.
• Next.js: We used this framework for the front-end to deliver blazing-fast page loads and the inherent security of a static site. Crucially, it still allows the team to update news and events instantly without waiting for the whole site to rebuild.
• Vercel: To keep everything running smoothly, we deployed the site on Vercel. Its globally distributed network ensures the website is always fast, reliable, and available, taking the worry out of high-traffic periods.

MongoDB & AWS S3: These provide a secure, reliable, and highly scalable foundation for storing the College's vast library of content and media.

But good technology is only as useful as it is accessible. To truly support the editors and continue Solving Complexity, we engineered bespoke, user-friendly tools right into the CMS:

• Reference Mapping System: On the old site, deleting a page felt risky because editors couldn't see which other pages linked to it. To remove this anxiety, we built an "X-ray" tool that clearly shows all linked dependencies before anything is deleted. It turned a blind, stressful process into a safe, transparent one, protecting the site's Enduring Quality.
• Custom "BuildableList" Architecture: We wanted the team to feel like designers without needing to write a single line of code. This tool lets editors build beautiful, complex pages like news feeds or subject lists by simply mixing and matching pre-approved design blocks. It’s Elegant Engineering that respects the user's time and protects the College's visual identity.
• Embedded Intelligence: We placed helpful, context-sensitive guides directly inside the CMS dashboard. When an editor opens a new screen, they see gentle instructions specifically for that task, making the system incredibly welcoming for new staff.

Bringing the Data Home Safely

Moving nearly 4,000 pages of history from a rigid legacy system requires immense care. When our automated migration scripts encountered heavily tangled legacy data, we didn't force it. Instead, we shifted to a hybrid approach, dedicating our own team to manually clean and restructure the most critical data. We prioritised absolute accuracy to ensure the new site launched beautifully and flawlessly.

Throughout this process, we worked closely with a dedicated design agency. Together, we modernised the user interface to be clean and mobile-first, whilst carefully respecting the familiarity of the old site so that faculty and staff wouldn't feel disoriented by the change.

The Impact: Giving the Team Their Time Back

The true measure of this project isn't just in the code; it’s in how much easier life is for the people using it. The new platform has delivered a deeply positive shift for Merton College:

• Workflow Autonomy: The communications and admissions teams have reclaimed their days. Because updates no longer require developer support, they can draft, review, and publish in real-time. This newfound independence has brought a significant speed and ease to their digital communications.
• Confidence in Publishing: With clear guardrails and intuitive building blocks, editors can create beautiful pages with absolute confidence, knowing they are perfectly aligned with the College's brand guidelines.
• A Secure, Welcoming Space: The modern headless architecture is inherently secure, protecting the site from malicious traffic. More importantly, the new platform comfortably meets WCAG 2.2 AA standards, ensuring the College's digital doors are open and accessible to everyone.
• True Ownership: By moving to an open-source, modern stack, the College is completely free from vendor lock-in. They now own a flexible foundation that can grow, change, and adapt to their future needs without requiring a total rebuild.

Looking Ahead: A Platform They Truly Own

Our partnership didn't end at launch. We established clear, sensible workflows and provided thorough training so the internal teams felt fully comfortable taking the reins. By defining these roles and content approval processes, we've helped ensure the platform remains tidy and efficient for years to come.

Merton College now has a digital foundation that matches the prestige of its physical campus. They have moved from a system that dictated how they worked to one that quietly and powerfully supports whatever they wish to do next.

Lessons Learned

• Clarity Before Code: Taking the time to build a thoughtful, highly organised Information Architecture is the kindest thing you can do for your future self. It prevents endless headaches down the line.
• Empower the People: The best technology is the kind that fades into the background. By giving teams intuitive tools and clear guides, you not only speed up their work but also boost their confidence.
• Protect the Brand by Making it Easy: When you provide editors with pre-approved, beautifully designed building blocks, staying on-brand becomes the natural way to work.
• Choose Freedom: Opting for a modern, open-source tech stack keeps you in control of your digital future, allowing your platform to evolve at your own pace.

Ready to elevate your digital presence?

Explore how our approach to Enduring Quality, Elegant Engineering, and Solving Complexity can empower your organisation to own its digital future. Contact us to discuss your digital transformation journey.