British Council

AdvisoryData & Content MigrationDigital AuditsDigital TransformationDiscoveryUser Experience AuditUser ResearchUX

Overview

Replatforming with purpose: how JBi Digital rebuilt TakeIELTS around the test-taker, not the org chart

The British Council's IELTS digital estate spanned 120+ sites across 111 countries with no shared infrastructure. JBi Digital ran the discovery that turned that fragmentation into a single evidence-based strategy, then delivered the platform migration against a hard security deadline.

  • 42 User interviews (9 Countries)42
  • 229 URLs audited globally229
  • 19 Priority languages19
  • 120+ Country sites mapped120+
The brief

IELTS is the world's most popular English language test for higher education and global migration. The British Council co-owns the test and competes directly with other administrators, most notably IDP, for every booking. That commercial context matters: every gap in the digital estate is a gap in competitive performance.

When the British Council came to JBi, its IELTS digital presence was deeply fragmented. The global website at takeielts.britishcouncil.org ran on end-of-life Drupal 7, alongside more than 120 individual country and regional IELTS sites spread across different CMSs, domains, and platforms. There was no shared content infrastructure, no automated publishing workflow, and no unified analytics. Local teams were copying and pasting content between CMSs by hand.

The consequences were compounding. Brand inconsistency across markets was undermining trust at the point of booking. Drupal 7 was approaching end of life in January 2025, creating a hard security deadline. And the fragmented architecture made any meaningful improvement to the booking, preparation, or results journey virtually impossible to roll out across markets.

The approach

JBi ran the discovery as three integrated workstreams, designed to feed each other's findings and produce a single strategic direction rather than three separate reports. Running them in parallel compressed the timeline and ensured the CMS recommendation was shaped by real user needs, not technical preference alone.

 

Five-stage test-taker journey

01. Researching stage

In the Researching stage, test-takers are exploring whether IELTS is right for them. This is the awareness and education phase before commitment to booking.

What they need to find: Test structure, visa requirements, scoring, available locations, costs, and what to expect on the day.

The problem with the old structure: the topic-based organisation meant someone researching whether they needed IELTS had to navigate past content aimed at teachers, partners, and institutions. Content was fragmented across different country sites with no clear guidance on whether it applied to them.

How the new structure serves it: everything in the Researching section is now test-taker-centric. The site assumes the reader is exploring, not preparing or booking yet. It answers: "Do I need IELTS?", "Which version?", "What happens?", and "When and where?"

 

Five-stage test-taker journey

02. Booking stage

Once test-takers have decided to sit IELTS, they move into the Booking stage. This is a transactional phase with a clear conversion point: completing a test registration.

What they need to find: Available test dates, centres near them, pricing, registration deadlines, and payment options.

The challenge: booking flows were hosted on external servers outside British Council's direct control. The discovery had to design an interim structure that would work across these constraints whilst planning for future integration.

How the new structure serves it: the Booking stage is now prominently positioned after Researching, signalling to users that the test is right for them and it's time to act. Centre location searches and date availability are centralised across all markets, eliminating the need for users to bounce between fragmented country sites.

 

Five-stage test-taker journey

03. Preparing stage

The Preparing stage is where test-takers actively build their confidence and exam readiness. This is typically the longest stage, spanning weeks or months.

What they need to find: Practice tests, sample questions, study guides, video tutorials, vocabulary lists, writing examples, and tips for each band level.

The problem with the old structure: preparation materials were scattered across dozens of domains with no consistent navigation. A test-taker preparing in one market might find comprehensive resources; another market's site might have outdated or incomplete materials.

How the new structure serves it: preparation materials are now unified under a single Preparing section accessible to all markets. Content is versioned, updated regularly, and tagged by level and section (Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening), making it easy to navigate regardless of location.

 

Five-stage test-taker journey

04. Managing stage

The Managing stage covers everything that happens in the days and weeks leading up to the test, and on test day itself.

What they need to find: Test centre information, arrival times, what to bring, ID requirements, rules and regulations, test day FAQs, and emergency contact information.

The challenge: managing information is highly localised, centre-specific, often regulation-specific. The architecture had to support both global consistency (the same rules apply everywhere) and local variation (opening hours, contact details, specific requirements).

How the new structure serves it: managing information is separated from Preparing, reducing cognitive load. Users can focus on last-minute logistics without being distracted by study materials. Centre-specific details are linked from test booking confirmations, ensuring users see only what applies to them.

 

Five-stage test-taker journey

05. Returning stage

The Returning stage is where test-takers access their results and decide what's next. For many, it is not an end, it is the start of a second attempt or an application journey.

What they need to find: Result publication dates, how to access results, result explanations and band descriptors, and information about retaking the test.

The problem with the old structure: users who had completed the test had often moved on from whatever country site they had originally booked through. Accessing results from a fragmented domain was confusing; retake information was scattered or outdated.

How the new structure serves it: returning is a clearly labelled stage with a single point of entry for results access. Retake information is prominently positioned, recognising that many users' next action is to book again. The unified platform means users can retake from anywhere, not just the original country site.

 

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Key outcomes

13,000-page estate migrated prior to deadline

JBi Digital moved straight from discovery into delivery: migrating the global site to Drupal 10 and completing a full SEO clean-up of the 13,000-page estate. Both finished before Drupal 7's end-of-life date in January 2025. That closed the security risk on schedule and kept the British Council's highest-traffic booking platform secure and competitive with IDP Education throughout the migration.