Case study · Strategy & vision
One Front End for Dozens of Websites
I led the migration of dozens of lead-generation sites to a shared front end, enabling consistent experimentation, data and UX while making improvements faster and cheaper to deploy.
The context
We ran dozens of label websites on different templates. Every improvement had to be built several times, experiments and data varied between sites, and performance differed widely from the best performers to the rest. In 2019, we needed additional front-end and DevOps expertise to keep up with our roadmap ambitions.
The challenge
I needed to increase speed and quality across all sites in a cost-effective way, while building the business case for investing in a shared platform.
How I approached it
I made the business case for three additional hires, representing an investment of about €13,800 per month. I then planned a phased migration, using one established website as the blueprint. Its new implementation was grounded in UX research and prototype validation.
We migrated sites with similar templates first, followed by the remaining labels and, finally, the SEO-focused sites. As the platform matured, we established a dedicated front-end team to support its continued development and adoption.
What it delivered
The shared front end brought A/B testing, data quality and UX across the portfolio up to the standard of our best-performing sites. Improvements could then be rolled out across all sites faster and at lower cost. Although we did not capture a verified conversion uplift or launch-time reduction, the platform removed duplicated work and created a more scalable foundation for future optimisation.
Looking back
I learned that a shared platform can raise quality across a varied portfolio while reducing duplicated work. Starting with an established website, validating the new implementation through UX research, and migrating in phases gave us a practical route forward. I would, however, define measurement baselines earlier so we could verify conversion impact and launch-time improvements.
The principle I carry into future roles is to combine platform investment with evidence, phased adoption, and dedicated ownership. Standardisation is most valuable when it brings every product up to the strongest existing level while still creating room for continued testing and optimisation.