GRM Partners with LGBTQIA+ Support Line Switchboard to Drive Digital Innovation

We're proud to announce our partnership with Switchboard, the UK’s national LGBTQ+ listening service. The partnership has been established to successfully develop a user-friendly website to drive Switchboard’s unwavering commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community.  

GRM was selected as digital partner to amplify the recently refreshed brand ahead of Switchboard’s 50th anniversary, through the development of a new headless CMS that showcases the organisation’s visual identity and encompasses its past, present and future goals.  

As part of our strategy, the team worked closely with Switchboard to provide support and guidance through the web development process. This began with an in-person workshop where our team were able to understand Switchboards internal systems and digital challenges. 

Drawing on our wealth of web development expertise for not-for-profits, we designed the website to cater to a diverse range of needs, making it accessible for all users, but also retaining Switchboard’s legacy. The fresh, modern and user-friendly website is now equipped with detailed information on how to use the Switchboard service, become a volunteer or donate, as well as the necessary resources and support to address their specific needs and challenges.   

For Switchboard, a key focus was the visual identity of the website and paying homage to the LGBTQIA+ community. GRM Digital created the website with this central motif at the forefront of its design, including the dynamic colour pairing paying tribute to the LGBTQIA+ flag. 

From a technical perspective, the site is built in Sanity Composable CMS. Switchboard made the move from a monolithic CMS to headless, gaining numerous benefits in the process.

Flexibility. - It's inevitable that the website needs of Switchboard service users will change over time and now they have a platform which can be hooked into easily using the API-first approach.

Ability to use best-of-breed tools. - If the team want to move to a new marketing automation service, or integrate a new donation platform, this will be much easier than it would be in a monolithic CMS.

Speed. - Service users can get the information they need very quickly. Headless has enabled the GRM development team to use super-slick front end frameworks built for speed. 

GRM Digital will continue to support and enhance Switchboard’s website as more content is included from illustrators from the LGBTQIA+ community.  

Nej Gakenyi, CEO and Founder of GRM Digital, commented: 

“We are honoured to have been chosen by Switchboard as their digital partner. This collaboration reflects the commitment and passion of our team, and we are thrilled to support Switchboard along their digital journey. As we work to enhance and innovate their digital footprint, we are excited to see what we can achieve together.” 

“GRM Digital’s expertise in web development made them the perfect choice to develop our website to bring this new branding to life,” added Stephanie Fuller, CEO of Switchboard. “We have just rolled out our abbreviated version of the website and we are excited to promote the latest additions over the next few weeks. GRM Digital challenged us to create a website that fully corresponds to our branding and visual identity and we look forward to continuing our digital partnership through the year.”