UCAS

The Challenge

UCAS, the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, faced the complex task of serving diverse student groups through their digital platform. They needed to transform UCAS.com into an intuitive gateway to higher education that could support multiple user journeys while maintaining simplicity and accessibility.

Comprehensive Research Approach

Box UK conducted one of the most extensive user research programs in UCAS’s digital history:

In-Depth User Analysis

• 20 hours of detailed user testing sessions
• 81 participant card sorting activities revealing natural content groupings
• 33 tree testing exercises mapping intuitive navigation paths
• 77 HotJar recordings showing real user behaviour patterns
• 12 months of analytics data providing behavioural insights

Competitive Intelligence

• Analysis of 4 competitor platforms

• Identification of best practices and opportunities
• Benchmark assessment of user experience standards

Content Strategy

• Detailed audit of 51 key pages
• 26 usability observations documenting pain points
• Strategic stakeholder interviews
• Comprehensive content architecture review

Strategic Solution

Our analysis led to transformative recommendations:

User Experience Enhancement

• Redesigned information architecture based on actual user behavior
• Streamlined navigation paths for different student groups
• Personalisation framework for targeted content delivery
• Relocated student portal to homepage for immediate access

Technical Innovation

• Integration with new CMS development
• Enhanced content tagging system
• Powerful personalisation capabilities
• Scalable architecture supporting future growth

Impact

The implementation delivered significant improvements:

• Streamlined Access: Reduced clicks to critical information
• Enhanced Engagement: More intuitive content discovery
• Improved Conversion: Clearer pathways to application
• Better Support: Personalised guidance for diverse student groups

Long-Term Value

This transformation positioned UCAS to:

• Better serve an increasingly diverse student population
• Adapt to changing educational landscapes
• Support more sophisticated user journeys
• Maintain their position as the gateway to UK higher education

The success of this project demonstrates Box UK’s ability to combine comprehensive user research with strategic digital solutions, ultimately making higher education more accessible to all prospective students.