Analytics, monitoring and ongoing support for an educational charity

What the site is

The Constitution Society is an educational charity focused on constitutional issues, promoting public understanding of the UK constitution. The site publishes blog posts, policy publications and educational resources including a comprehensive “Constitution Explained” section covering Parliament, the executive, rights, the monarchy, the judiciary, electoral systems, devolution and direct democracy.

The challenge

I took over from the Society’s previous developer in 2024 — and it was a great site to inherit. The problem wasn’t the build. The problem was that visitor numbers had dropped sharply, and it had taken the Society a long time to even notice. What they wanted was a developer who would actively monitor the site, diagnose the cause, and install analytics they could actually trust.

What I delivered

Analytics and monitoring. Implemented cookieless analytics — far more accurate than the old setup — plus custom monthly reporting that compares each month against the ones before it, so a dip gets caught immediately rather than months later.

Performance. SEO-driven rather than remedial — the site should simply be as fast as it can be for search. Implemented WP Rocket caching, configured Jetpack Boost and CDN, and tuned SiteGround server settings.

Security. Investigated and resolved security concerns, implemented link tracking, and hardened the site.

Email and DNS. Resolved Google Workspace email issues, fixed DNS settings, managed domain transfers and debugged email delivery.

Newsletter. Streamlined the newsletter signup, moving it from a complex multi-step process to a single-page form.

How the engagement works

I’m contracted for quarterly updates, with flexible ad-hoc help outside that — no binding retainer. In practice that means months of quiet, then a burst of questions. A recent one: the Society wanted to understand how AI systems use their website. Their content genuinely benefits from appearing in AI training data — public understanding is the whole point — and it was eye-opening how much AI access is blocked by default.