Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences
The Challenge
Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences trains professionals who make a difference in addressing the biggest societal challenges: climate, food, water, and biodiversity. Students who choose this university aren’t just choosing a degree programme. They’re choosing a path for their future. The website needed to support that choice: informative and inspiring, in three languages, for prospective students from all over Europe. At the same time, the editorial team needed to be able to communicate the university’s mission independently, without technical barriers.
The Solution
A multilingual Wagtail platform that brings together program selection, student stories, research, events, and editorial autonomy. More than 70 programmes can be filtered by location, language, interest and mode of study. Student stories are linked to specific programmes, and online open houses have their own dedicated content. The platform integrates with SURFconext, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager. The HVHL editorial team independently manages over 1,000 pages.
A student doesn’t choose based on a brochure, but on a gut feeling
HVHL trains experts in transition. The website must convey that this is the place where you’ll make a difference. We built the platform that carries that message, in Dutch, English, and German.
Choosing a program starts with doubts, not with a program name
Most prospective students don’t know exactly what they want. They do know what interests them, where they want to study, and how they want to learn. The programmes section of hvhl.nl caters to this: it’s filterable by area of interest, location, study format, language and level. Each program overview includes admission requirements, the curriculum, and career opportunities. Student stories are directly linked to the programs, so visitors find not only information but also real-life experiences and testimonials from current students. The filters are not hardcoded. Editors decide for themselves which filters are visible, in what order, and with which preselections. This allows HVHL to set up campaign pages for specific target audiences without needing a developer’s help.
A platform that adapts to the organisation’s needs
HVHL is more than just a list of degree programs. Research groups, research projects, societal transitions, and international collaboration are all part of what defines the university. The platform makes all these areas visible and searchable, each with its own models but sharing common patterns for filters, searchability, and multilingual support. The search function supports quick searches, featured results, and hero promotions. This allows HVHL to actively highlight important content around open house events and popular degree programmes. Wagtail A/B testing makes it possible to test which approach works better. And the SURFconext integration ensures that editors can log in securely via the education sector’s existing identity infrastructure, without separate accounts or passwords.
3 languages. 70+ degree programs. 1,000+ pages
Multilingualism is built into the architecture, not just an add-on. Dutch, English, and German are structurally supported, including language-specific content and domains. Every programme is discoverable, filterable and equipped with rich schema.org data for search engines.
Editorial freedom with governance
The HVHL editorial team independently manages navigation, the footer, open house events, campaign pages, and more than 1,000 pages of content. HTML embeds are possible via managed snippets with a site-wide kill switch. Marketing has the freedom to publish quickly. Security maintains control.
A production platform, not a brochure website
S3 storage, Elasticsearch, Celery, Redis and comprehensive deployment documentation: the platform is built for long-term use and ongoing development. HVHL didn’t just get a standalone website. It received a foundation upon which the organisation can continue to build in the coming years.
Rinse van der Sloot
We are extremely pleased with the choice of the Wagtail CMS and the provider Four Digits. The way the design was implemented in Wagtail exceeded our expectations. We consider this a major achievement, especially since our corporate identity is entirely based on spheres and rounded shapes.
Your educational institution deserves a platform that conveys its mission. Let’s get to know each other.
