Alondon Community Portal
Alondon Communications
Strategic redesign of London's premier Hebrew community portal, transforming a legacy magazine into a modern digital content hub focused on engagement and readability.
“The new design perfectly captures the essence of our community. It's not just a website; it's a home for Israelis in London.”
About Alondon
Alondon is a Hebrew-language community content site designed primarily for Israelis in London and the UK. It serves as a news portal, magazine, guide hub, and community platform providing relevant information for life in London.
The site covers:
- News, Tourism, and Culture
- Neighborhood and Accommodation Guides
- Events, Employment, and Business
- Real Estate and Community Updates
Starting as a printed magazine in 1994 and moving online in 2001, Alondon has operated primarily as a digital community content portal since 2017. Owned by Alondon Communications, it targets Hebrew speakers living in or visiting the UK.
The Challenge
It is crucial to define what this project is not:
- It is not an e-commerce site or online store.
- It is not necessarily a sales site.
- It is not a physical product brand.
It is a digital content site/magazine with guide pages, news, and columns in Hebrew about life in London. The challenge was to create an experience that encourages deep content consumption rather than quick transactions.
Our Solution
We focused on upgrading the infrastructure and overall experience by installing a new Theme and adapting it precisely to the client's needs:
UI/UX Design
- Content-First Design: We adapted the design to how users consume news and guides, emphasizing readability (Typography) and proper spacing.
- Class Adaptation: shifted the design approach from a sales site (products/cart) to a community magazine approach.
- Hebrew User Experience: Improved navigation, readability, and orientation for the Hebrew-speaking audience.
Information Architecture
- Logical Navigation: Reconstructed the page structure to allow logical flow between different categories like "London Now", Culture, Real Estate, and more.
- Business Connectivity: Built navigation that leads directly to business and promotional content according to the client's KPIs.
Business Goals
Alondon aims to be:
- A central content home for the Israeli community in London.
- A useful information resource for living, working, and integrating into the city.
- A community platform with ongoing updates and events.
From a marketing perspective, the asset serves as a platform for ads, advertising, and business collaborations, so the design supports maximum exposure to these contents without disrupting the user experience.
Key Benefits & Results
- Audience Fit: The site is "tailored" to the specific needs of Israelis and Hebrew speakers in the UK.
- Reputation & History: The new design preserves the legacy of the veteran brand (since 1994) but presents it in a package relevant to today.
- Content Diversity: The platform supports a rich variety of formats - from short news to in-depth guides and travel articles.
Future Outlook
To continue developing the platform, foundations were laid for:
- UX Measurement: Tools to understand the most engaging content.
- Engagement: Infrastructures for newsletters and user registration to create an active community.