One of the UK’s leading ballet companies, English National Ballet has been opening ballet up to wider audiences for over 75 years. Their ambition is simple: ballet for everyone, everywhere.
Launched alongside a new brand identity, the website needed to welcome new audiences while serving loyal supporters.
Main photo: Drew Forsyth
ENB’s previous site wasn’t keeping pace with their ambitions. Research with online audiences had identified real barriers: design, content structure and language that worked for existing fans but made ballet feel harder to access for those new to it.
At the same time, the site had technical problems that needed fixing. Pages were slow to load, staff had limited ability to update content without incurring development costs, and the site held a carbon rating of F. Accessibility fell short of WCAG AA standards – a poor reflection of their genuine commitment to making ballet available to everyone.
The new site needed to do a lot: bring the brand to life, reach new audiences, sell tickets, support donations and give the internal team the flexibility to manage it all.
We started where it mattered most: understanding ENB’s audiences. Focus groups, persona workshops and a content audit reshaped the site from the ground up, shifting the focus away from how ENB was organised internally towards what their audiences actually needed.
Working to an ambitious timeline, we translated the new brand identity into a digital experience that feels expressive without losing clarity. The identity was developed by EDIT, ENB’s brand agency, and their response said it all: “We’re really happy with the application of the brand, and it’s so great to see the brand applied with such care and enthusiasm.”
The result is a site built around 44 flexible content blocks, giving the ENB team real control to create and manage content without needing development support.
Audience research, focus groups and persona workshops to define structure and user journeys
Card sorting and content audit to reshape a large volume of existing material around user needs
Brand session with EDIT (brand agency) to align on visual identity before the design kick off
44 flexible content blocks built to support ongoing content creation
Integrations with Tessitura, WooCommerce and MindBody
Accessibility built to WCAG AA standards, with Google Lighthouse scores consistently above 90%
Performance and sustainability improvements throughout
The new site brings the ENB brand to life in a way the previous one couldn’t. It’s faster, more accessible and far easier to navigate. Whether you’ve been to the ballet a hundred times, or you’re finding your way in for the first time, it works.
For the internal team, flexible content blocks means they can build, update and manage content without waiting on development support. The site is designed to grow with the organisation.
‘ENB at Home’ video experience: A Netflix-style browsing and playback experience that makes it easy for audiences to discover and watch ‘ENB at Home’ video content.
Class bookings: In-person class bookings are integrated via MindBody, creating a smooth journey from discovery to booking.
Ticketing and e-commerce: The site integrates with Tessitura and WooCommerce to support ticket sales, retail and other paid content in one cohesive experience.
Dynamic galleries: When uploading media, the team can tag dancers and productions to create dynamically populated galleries that stay fresh without manual updates.
Donations and support journeys: Tessitura’s TNEW donation and support flows are styled to feel fully part of the ENB site, keeping users in a consistent experience throughout.
Optional user support tools: An embedded chatbot can be switched on or off on specific pages, providing real-time guidance where it’s most useful.
