IWCF WordPress Website Launch | Bluestone98 Digital Success

How Bluestone98 Delivered IWCF’s New Global WordPress Platform: A Scottish Digital Success Story

Introduction: IWCF and another Scottish digital success story
The challenge: a global platform for well control competency
Our custom WordPress solution for IWCF
UX, performance, security and accessibility by design
Why this project matters for IWCF and Scotland
Key takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Author
We would love to hear from you

1. Introduction: IWCF and another Scottish digital success story

We are proud to announce the launch of the new WordPress website for IWCF, the International Well Control Forum – another significant Bluestone98 digital success story and another major win across Scotland.

Based in Montrose, IWCF is the global independent body dedicated to improving competency in well control. Their work underpins safety and standards across the worldwide oil and gas sector, so their website has to perform at the very highest level.

Bluestone98 was commissioned to create a future ready digital platform that reflects IWCF’s authority, supports their global user base, and gives the organisation the flexibility to grow. The result is a bespoke WordPress build that combines strategic UX, performance engineering and robust security, tailored specifically to IWCF’s needs.

2. The challenge: a global platform for well control competency

IWCF needed more than a visual refresh. They required a high performing, scalable and secure platform that could serve:

Candidates looking to register, train and certify
Members and training centres managing accreditation and quality assured status
Internal teams who require efficient content management and communication tools
A global audience accessing multilingual content and guidance

Key objectives included:

Improving the user experience across all devices, with mobile prioritised
Introducing a clear structure for candidates, members and training providers
Implementing a chatbot to handle common enquiries and route users to the right teams
Enhancing search and FAQ discovery
Supporting membership applications, renewals, accreditation, document storage and notifications
Integrating with tools such as SkillsVX and Eventbrite
Providing multilingual support without relying on flags

This was a complex digital brief that required a carefully planned strategy and a robust technical foundation.

3. Our custom WordPress solution for IWCF

To deliver a platform that could truly serve IWCF’s global community, we designed and developed a fully bespoke WordPress CMS, powered by Advanced Custom Fields (ACF). This allows IWCF to manage content in a structured, modular way, while keeping the interface intuitive and easy for their internal teams to use.

Core features of the new IWCF website

Bespoke IWCF WordPress website build with clean, optimised code
ACF driven page builder, enabling flexible layouts without code
Dedicated members area for document storage, applications, updates and renewals
Application and renewal workflows that support saving progress and tracking status
Two fully structured directories for members and quality assured providers
AI driven chatbot to support common queries and escalate to human support when needed
SkillsVX and Eventbrite integration to unify training and events experiences
Multilingual glossary support, presented in an engaging way without flags

Everything has been crafted to give IWCF the control, clarity and performance they need.

4. UX, performance, security and accessibility by design

From the outset, the IWCF project was shaped around user experience, speed, security and accessibility – not treated as afterthoughts.

Mobile first UX and UI

Using Figma for collaboration, our UX and UI team worked closely with IWCF to map journeys, refine page layouts and visual language, and ensure the experience felt effortless across mobile, tablet and desktop. The site now offers:

Clear entry points for key tasks such as registering as a candidate, applying for membership, verifying eCerts and accessing Level 1 and WOCRM
Intuitive navigation and content hierarchy
A consistent brand experience across every touchpoint

Performance and technical SEO

The site is engineered for speed and search visibility, with:

Semantic HTML and optimised URL structures
Clean heading hierarchies and image alt tagging
Minified CSS, JavaScript and HTML
Lazy loading for imagery and video
Caching strategies and CDN integration
Core Web Vitals optimisation focused on LCP, FID and CLS

This foundations first approach ensures the website performs strongly in search and delivers a fast, responsive experience for users around the world.

Accessibility and compliance

Accessibility was a key requirement for IWCF. By implementing AccessiBe on WordPress, we have enabled:

Keyboard friendly navigation
Screen reader compatibility
Adjustable contrast, colour and text sizing
Ongoing automated accessibility monitoring in line with WCAG 2.1 AA standards

Hosting, security and resilience

Hosted on DigitalOcean’s cloud infrastructure, IWCF’s platform benefits from:

Dedicated firewalls and intrusion monitoring
Malware scanning and proactive vulnerability management
SSL encryption and GDPR aligned data handling
Automated daily backups with rapid restore capability
24/7 uptime and performance monitoring using StatusCake

The result is a site that is not only visually strong, but technically resilient and compliant.

5. Why this project matters for IWCF and Scotland

For IWCF, this new website is a strategic enabler. It supports their mission to raise well control standards across the globe by:

Giving candidates and centres clearer routes to the information and tools they need
Simplifying internal workflows around membership, accreditation and communication
Providing a scalable framework for future services, languages and integrations

For Scotland, it represents another example of a globally important organisation investing in modern digital infrastructure. As a multi award winning agency with studios in Edinburgh, London and Harrogate, Bluestone98 is proud to add IWCF to our growing list of Scottish partnerships, alongside other significant engagements across the region.

This is another successful win, client and project in and across Scotland, reinforcing our commitment to helping Scottish organisations compete and lead on the world stage.

6. Key takeaways

IWCF now has a future ready WordPress platform aligned to their global mission
The site delivers a mobile first, accessible and multilingual experience
Membership, accreditation and directory workflows have been simplified and digitised
Performance, security and compliance are embedded at every layer of the build
This project marks another major Scottish digital success story delivered by Bluestone98

7. Frequently Asked Questions

What did Bluestone98 deliver for IWCF?

We designed and developed a fully bespoke IWCF WordPress website with ACF page building, a members area, directory functionality, application and renewal tools, chatbot integration, multilingual support and a robust hosting, security and maintenance framework.

Why was WordPress chosen for IWCF?

WordPress provides IWCF with a secure, scalable and highly customisable platform. Using ACF, we were able to create structured, flexible content modules that the IWCF team can control without needing to touch code, while ensuring excellent performance and SEO.

Is the new IWCF website accessible?

Yes. The website is enhanced using AccessiBe to support WCAG 2.1 AA level accessibility, including screen reader support, keyboard navigation and adjustable visual settings to help all users access content more easily.

How is the site secured and maintained?

The site is hosted on DigitalOcean, with dedicated firewalls, malware scanning, SSL encryption, daily backups and uptime monitoring. Bluestone98 offers ongoing maintenance that includes updates, security patching and optimisation as part of an agreed support package.

Can Bluestone98 deliver similar WordPress projects for other organisations?

Absolutely. We have been delivering high performance WordPress, Shopify and bespoke builds for over 27 years, across sectors including energy, engineering, pet care, construction, financial services and premium lifestyle brands.

8. About the Author IWCF WordPress Website by Bluestone98 digital success stories

Jonathan Armstead – Founder and Creative Director, Bluestone98

Jonathan founded Bluestone98 in 1998 with a clear vision: to bring together design, technology and strategy to create digital experiences that deliver measurable commercial results. Over more than two decades he has helped shape Bluestone98 into one of the UK’s most respected independent web design agencies, known for its award winning creative work, precision engineering and long term client relationships.

As Creative Director, Jonathan is closely involved in projects like IWCF’s new platform, guiding brand discovery, UX strategy, interface design and performance optimisation. His philosophy is simple: every website should be beautiful to look at, effortless to use and powerful enough to drive growth.

Jonathan has led or overseen many of Bluestone98’s key digital success stories across the UK and beyond, including high profile work in Scotland and for international brands using WordPress, Shopify and fully bespoke builds. His focus remains on helping ambitious organisations turn their digital presence into a genuine strategic advantage.

Studios: London | Harrogate | Edinburgh
Website: www.bluestone98.com
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0330 633 1998

9. We would love to hear from you

If you are planning a new WordPress website, digital platform or full brand transformation, we would be delighted to talk.

You can email us at [email protected] or call 0330 633 1998 to discuss your next project and how we can support your growth.