Partners in Dementia

Partners in Dementia is a dedicated not for profit organisation providing vital support and resources for those living with dementia and their carers.

I have volunteered as the charity’s IT Manager for a year now and spearheaded a complete website overhaul to replace the aging, restrictive website with a more modern one 

The Challenge The charity’s existing online presence was hindered by a very old WordPress build that relied on rigid, outdated themes, making it difficult for staff to keep information current.

Furthermore, the site was hosted on Australian servers and this geographic disconnect, combined with technical legacy issues, severely impacted search engine visibility and site speed for their UK-based audience.

The Solution The transformation began with a full migration and technical rebuild:

• Infrastructure & Hosting: I managed the domain transfer and moved the site to my own high-performance UK cloud ervers. This has instantly improved site latency and local SEO.

• Automation & Integration: To reduce the administrative burden on charity staff, I implemented a direct integration with Eventbrite. Now, “Breath, Body, and Mind” courses only need to be uploaded once to Eventbrite to appear automatically on the website.

• Fundraising Tools: I integrated the Stripe payment gateway, providing a secure and seamless donation facility to support the charity’s ongoing work.

• Ongoing Maintenance: The site is backed by a monthly maintenance plan including plugin updates, security audits, and off-site backups to ensure long-term stability.

Dementia-Friendly Web Design AI designed the site following specific guidelines to assist users with cognitive impairments:

• Specialised Typography: The use of a dementia-friendly font to improve legibility and reduce visual stress.

• Clear Hierarchy: Implementing large, simplified headers and intuitive navigation to minimise “choice paralysis.” which is a phenomena that when faced with too many choices, the brain becomes overwhelmed, leading to fear of making the “wrong” choice and ultimately resulting in no decision at all.

• Visual Structure: Creating “contained images” and clear borders to help users distinguish between different content blocks and interactive elements.

• Simplified Management: Built with WordPress and Elementor, the backend allows staff to make updates via a simple interface.

The Results The new Partners in Dementia Care website is now a fast, accessible, and user-centric resource. By automating event listings and resolving hosting issues, the charity can spend less time on administration and more time on their mission, supported by a platform that is secure, easy to navigate, and optimised for their specific community.