New Zealand Language School Website Redesign | Multilingual Website Design with Wix Studio
- Jun 28
- 5 min read
About Southern Cross Language Institute
Southern Cross Language Institute (SCLI) is a language school located in Christchurch, on New Zealand’s South Island.
The school specialises in helping students learn English through an English-speaking environment.
SCLI also provides small-group English language programmes and homestay programmes for Japanese high school students and exchange students.
For this project, LITTLE FUJI Design Studio was responsible for migrating the existing WordPress website to Wix Studio and redesigning the website.
The goal of the project was to make the school’s programmes and unique learning environment easier to understand.
I reviewed the website structure and information architecture to create a website that allows users to find the information they need smoothly.
Challenges Before the Website Redesign
The previous website was built on WordPress, which made it difficult for the client to manage and update content independently.
In addition, the website needed to serve multiple audiences, including students, parents, partner schools, and local New Zealand families interested in hosting international students.
Presenting the right information clearly to each audience required a more intuitive and user-friendly site structure.
As a result, improving the information architecture and creating a clearer navigation experience became key objectives of the website redesign.
Why I Chose Wix Studio
At LITTLE FUJI Design Studio, I build all websites with Wix.
Wix Studio allows for flexible layout design and is well suited for multilingual website management and responsive web design.
For this project, Wix Multilingual was a strong fit because the website needed to support both English and Japanese content.
It made it easier to build and manage a multilingual website while keeping the user experience consistent across languages.
Wix Studio also allows clients to manage their website without needing coding knowledge. This makes it easier for non-technical teams to update content after launch.
In addition, by using the Wix Studio resource kit, I was able to provide a smoother handover process and support the client with ongoing website management.
Wix Studio was not only a design tool for this project, but also a practical platform that helped me create a website the client could continue to update and manage independently.
Information Architecture for a Language School Website
A language school website needs to do more than simply introduce the school.
It should help different types of users quickly find the information that is relevant to them.
For the Southern Cross Language Institute website, I carefully organised information into key sections, including:
Learning Programmes
Student Support
Parent Support
Homestay Programme
About the School and Christchurch
Contact Information
The goal was to create a clear and intuitive site structure that allows users to navigate the website without feeling overwhelmed.
I also considered the long-term management of the website.
To keep the site easy to maintain, I avoided creating an excessive number of pages and instead focused on organising content in a streamlined and user-friendly way.
Some information that had previously been separated into individual pages was reviewed, reorganised, and consolidated based on content relevance.
This helped simplify the website structure and improve the overall user experience.
At the same time, I recommended using the blog section for content that would continue to grow over time, such as school news, student experiences, and testimonials from parents.
This approach allows the school to keep the website structure concise while continuing to publish new content regularly.
It also provides additional opportunities to improve search engine visibility through fresh and relevant content.
As a result, the website can continue to grow without becoming difficult to navigate.
The multilingual setup supports both Japanese and English audiences, while categories and tags make it easier for users to browse and discover relevant information.
Key Improvements Made During the Website Redesign
Reorganising and Simplifying the Site Structure
One of the primary goals of the redesign was to improve the overall information architecture and make it easier for users to find the information they need.
To achieve this, I reviewed the existing page structure and redesigned the sitemap to create a clearer and more intuitive navigation experience.
For sections that require ongoing updates, such as team member profiles and annual events, I used Wix Studio's Repeater feature and Pro Gallery to create flexible, easy-to-manage content areas.
This allows the client to add, remove, or update content without needing to modify the page layout each time.
The result is a website that is not only easier for visitors to navigate, but also simpler for the school to maintain and update over time.
A Clear, Friendly Web Design for Students, Parents, and Partner Schools
For an educational website, visual trust is essential. The design needed to feel reliable for parents and partner schools, while still feeling warm and accessible for students.
I used Southern Cross Language Institute’s brand colours across the website and added illustrations, animations, and videos where they could support the content.
These elements help communicate the atmosphere of the school, student life, and the experience of living in New Zealand in a more direct and engaging way.
Multilingual Website Setup
To support both Japanese and English users, I set up a multilingual website structure in Wix Studio.
For this project, I focused mainly on the English pages and configured Japanese settings for selected pages to test that the multilingual display and language switching worked correctly.
For the remaining Japanese pages, I created a step-by-step multilingual setup guide so the client’s team could continue the process independently after handover.
Mobile Optimisation
I optimised the website for mobile and tablet users to ensure a smooth browsing experience across different screen sizes.
For content-heavy pages, I adjusted selected sections to use horizontal scrolling on mobile devices. This helps reduce excessive vertical scrolling and makes longer pages easier to navigate on smaller screens.
SEO Setup
To improve search engine visibility, I configured essential SEO settings across the website, including page titles and meta descriptions.
I also added Alt Text to all images to improve accessibility and help search engines better understand the content of each page.
Why I Used Rive Animation
The website also includes selected animations created with Rive, a real-time interactive animation tool for the web.
Web animations can add rich motion to otherwise static pages and help to:
Guide users' attention naturally
Create a more approachable and engaging experience
Reinforce the brand identity
At the same time, website performance and readability remain important considerations.
For this project, I chose Rive to create lightweight vector animations rather than large-scale animated content.
This allowed me to introduce motion in a way that enhances the user experience without negatively affecting loading speed or usability.
Supporting Ongoing Website Management using Wix Resource Kit
Launching a website is only the beginning. Ongoing content updates and maintenance are equally important.
As part of this project, I provided operational support using Wix Studio’s Resource Kit to help the client manage the website independently.
By sharing guidance on content updates and basic site management, I aimed to create a workflow that allows the team to maintain and update the website without requiring technical expertise.
Project Summary : Multilingual Website Design for a New Zealand Language School
This project was not only about redesigning the visual appearance of the website, but also about improving how information is organised, accessed, and maintained.
By restructuring the website, setting up multilingual pages, adding lightweight Rive animations, and supporting ongoing management through Wix Studio, I helped create a website that can continue to serve the school beyond the launch.
The result is a clearer and more manageable website for international students, parents, partner schools, host families, and the school team.
You can also view the project video on the Work page.
Looking for a Multilingual Website?
At LITTLE FUJI Design Studio, I design and build multilingual websites using Wix Studio for educational organisations, service-based businesses, and international audiences.
From multilingual website setup and user-focused information architecture to manageable CMS structures and interactive web experiences powered by Rive, I provide end-to-end support throughout the entire website project.
If you are a language school, educational organisation, business, or individual looking for a multilingual Wix website in New Zealand, Australia, or beyond, feel free to get in touch.
