Australian Institute of Music
Statistic
Project overview
The Australian Institute of Music (AIM) is Australia’s foremost private tertiary institution solely dedicated to music education, with over 50 years of history in nurturing successful careers in the global music industry. Our partnership with AIM began in 2019, when we were engaged to transition their old Drupal site to a WordPress platform using Elementor as the site builder.
While this initial project provided a quick solution, it highlighted the need for a more powerful and flexible platform.
AIM returned to us in 2023 to rebuild their website from the ground up, this time focusing on a custom-coded WordPress site using Gutenberg blocks. This new site addressed the limitations of the previous Elementor-based setup, delivering a streamlined, scalable, and editor-friendly platform.
Key challenges
- Inefficient content management
The Elementor-based site was cumbersome and bloated, which severely restricted the content team’s ability to independently create landing pages and manage campaigns.
- Outdated site structure
The old website’s structure was not optimised for performance or user experience, making it difficult for AIM to effectively reach their target audience.
- Performance issues
The previous site was slow, leading to frustration among users and a lack of conversion on key campaigns. This was a significant issue that needed to be addressed to improve user satisfaction and campaign effectiveness.
Our approach
Marameo’s deep expertise in web development within the education sector was instrumental in delivering a solution that not only resolved the issues of the previous site but also empowered AIM’s team with greater control and flexibility. We focused on creating a custom-coded site using Gutenberg blocks, ensuring that the new platform was tailored to AIM’s specific needs and goals.
Key strategies
- Custom Gutenberg blocks
We moved away from the constraints of Elementor and developed a set of custom Gutenberg blocks that allowed for greater flexibility in content creation and management.
- Optimised content structure
The site was restructured to enhance performance, scalability, and user experience, ensuring that AIM’s digital presence was both robust and future-proof.
- Performance optimisation
A significant part of our strategy involved improving site speed and overall performance. We achieved a Google PageSpeed Insights score of over 97, even with the inclusion of rich media like high-quality photos and long videos. This was critical in reducing user frustration and improving campaign conversion rates.
The solution
The 2023 website rebuild was a transformative project for AIM.
Moving from a bloated and inefficient Elementor-based site to a streamlined, custom-coded WordPress platform using Gutenberg blocks, we delivered a solution that dramatically improved the user and editor experience.
The new site is now highly performant, allowing the content team to independently create and manage landing pages and campaigns with ease.
This transformation has not only enhanced AIM’s digital presence but also empowered the team to more effectively engage with their target audience.
Lightning-fast performance 🚀⚡
One of the standout achievements of the 2023 rebuild was the dramatic improvement in site performance.
By optimising the site’s structure and incorporating best practices in coding and media management, we achieved a Google PageSpeed Insights score of over 97.
Despite the site being rich with high-quality photos and long videos, it remains lightning fast, providing a seamless user experience.
This enhancement has been crucial in reducing user frustration, improving engagement, and boosting the conversion rates of AIM’s key campaigns.
Performance
Accessibility
Best practices
SEO
* Google PageSpeed Insights is the global benchmark for website performance. It combines Google’s search influence, detailed performance metrics, practical recommendations, global accessibility, and alignment with modern web standards.
Tangible results 🎯
Enhanced content flexibility
The transition to custom Gutenberg blocks has provided AIM’s team with unprecedented flexibility in content management.
The transition to custom Gutenberg blocks has provided AIM’s team with unprecedented flexibility in content management.
Improved user experience
The new site offers a sleek, user-friendly experience, leading to higher engagement and better interaction with AIM’s target audience.
The new site offers a sleek, user-friendly experience, leading to higher engagement and better interaction with AIM’s target audience.
Increased efficiency
The content team can now independently create and manage all site content, from landing pages to campaigns, with minimal need for developer intervention.
The content team can now independently create and manage all site content, from landing pages to campaigns, with minimal need for developer intervention.
Optimised performance
The bloated old site was replaced with a highly efficient platform, resulting in faster load times and improved overall site performance.
The bloated old site was replaced with a highly efficient platform, resulting in faster load times and improved overall site performance.
FUTURE PLANS
Ongoing support
Marameo continues to work closely with AIM to maintain and enhance their new website.
Future plans include ongoing support and optimisation, as well as the potential development of additional features to further elevate AIM’s digital strategy.
