Sir Robert McAlpine
Dedicated to proudly building Britain’s future heritage.
The Brief:
Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM), a leading UK-based construction and civil engineering company, engaged Moriyama to rebuild their flagship corporate website. Known for iconic projects across the country, SRM required a modern, scalable solution after facing challenges upgrading their existing site from Umbraco v7.
With Umbraco v7 already at End of Life (EOL) when SRM engaged with Moriyama, we were tasked with rebuilding the platform on Umbraco v13—the latest Long-Term Support (LTS) version. This effort formed the first phase of a broader digital development programme.
The brief emphasised:
- Delivering a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) ahead of the Umbraco v7 XLTS (Extended Life Support) deadline.
- Enhancing the content management experience for editors.
- Establishing a future-proof platform to support SRM’s digital evolution.
The Solution:
Moriyama adopted a strategic, phased approach to ensure SRM’s website was delivered on time and aligned with their needs:
- MVP Delivery: The rebuild prioritised core functionality and an intuitive backend, launching before the XLTS deadline.Frontend Continuity: Maintained a “like-for-like” frontend to ensure a seamless user experience for visitors.
- Back Office Enhancements: Transitioned from the outdated Umbraco Grid to the modern Block List, improving content editing efficiency and eliminating reliance on deprecated tools.
- Search Revamp: Replaced ElasticSearch with Examine Search, delivering a robust, native solution for site search functionality.
- Platform Migration: Moved hosting from Microsoft Azure to Umbraco Cloud, improving scalability and reducing maintenance overhead.
- Content Optimisation: The rebuild process doubled as an opportunity for SRM to audit and refine their content, ensuring relevancy and alignment with strategic goals.
The Outcome:
The new SRM website launched successfully, meeting the critical XLTS deadline and providing a range of immediate benefits:
- Improved Content Management: Editors now benefit from an intuitive backend with reusable blocks, allowing faster page creation and streamlined workflows.
- Scalable Foundation: The new platform is designed to support SRM’s ongoing digital transformation, with built-in flexibility for future enhancements.
- Optimised Performance: Enhanced hosting and search capabilities ensure a faster, more reliable experience for both editors and end-users.
I cannot thank Moriyama enough for their support with this project. The team have been a joy to deal with from the beginning. They often deliver ahead of schedule and always offer a proactive approach to our projects. For the website upgrade, the dev team often red flagged potential problems before they became an issue, as well as raised opportunities to optimize the end product or user experience. As a result, our website has seen an increase in users and engagement. Our site health has increased and is now in the to 10% of all websites*. (SEMRush analysis)
Carrie-Anne Wood, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Sir Robert McAlpine
