From brief to impact: getinto.finance for Scottish Financial Enterprise
The brief was clear. Build a place where anyone in Scotland could see a credible path into finance. No jargon. No dead ends. A site that turns interest into action on a mobile screen.
The starting point
Early conversations surfaced the same friction. People didn’t know what jobs existed, which skills mattered, or how to start. Employers and educators had information, but it lived in silos. We framed a single question to guide the project: how do we help a user move from “curious” to “taking the first step” in under five minutes?
The plan
We mapped four journeys: school leaver, graduate, career-changer, and returner. That shaped a content model of Roles, Skills, Pathways, Courses, and Employers. We designed around decisions, not pages.
Sprint one: proof of clarity
We wrote the smallest possible copy that could explain a complex sector. Prototypes focused on a role explorer, pathway guidance, and contextual CTAs like “Choose your path.” Short, plain sentences. One task per screen. We tested language with users and trimmed anything that slowed them down.
Sprint two: system not pages
We built a modular design system so content teams could add roles, skills insights, and courses without design drift. Typography prioritised readability. Colour met contrast targets. Components scaled from mobile upwards. Accessibility was baked in: semantic structure, focus states, and keyboard support.
Build: fast by default
We engineered a mobile-first site that loads quickly and stays stable. We kept third-party scripts lean, optimised images, and structured content for search. The CMS uses a governed schema, so adding a new role or course is a repeatable task, not a mini-project.
Launch day
The homepage sets context and guides action. Users can explore roles, map skills to opportunities, compare entry routes, and connect with employers or educators. Each path ends with a next step, not a dead end.
What changed
Users reach relevant content in fewer taps
Career-changers can match transferable skills to roles with confidence
Educators and employers gain a single, trusted place to point people to
The client can publish new roles, insights, and courses without developer support
Behind the screens
Information architecture: Roles, Skills, Pathways, Courses, Employers
Design system: reusable components with guardrails for consistency
Content design: plain English, action-led microcopy, scannable layouts
Accessibility: WCAG-aligned patterns, tested focus order, meaningful alt text
SEO foundations: structured headings, internal linking, descriptive metas, clean URLs
Lessons
Clarity converts. When complex information is organised around decisions, people move. When the team shares a single content model, the site scales without losing signal.
What’s next
Personalised discovery: quick quiz that maps interests and skills to roles
Provider integrations: live course feeds via API to keep routes current
Employer hub: premium profiles, events, and application links for recruitment ROI
Licensable platform: white-label the pathways model for other sectors
Attribution loop: track outbound clicks to measure which roles and routes convert
Summary
getinto.finance is a focused, mobile-first careers hub for Scotland’s finance sector. It reduces friction from awareness to first action and gives the client a platform that grows with the content and the market.
