FX Networks Website Redesign

Nominated for Webby!

Challenge

FX Networks needed to replace an aging website with a modern, editorially driven experience flexible enough to accommodate the full breadth of its programming slate, from prestige dramas to cult comedies. The work had to land within a four-month contract window, meet WCAG 2.1 AA from day one, and run alongside a possible CMS replatform, all without disrupting marketing deadlines or brand rollout for new series.

Outcomes

Industry recognition: Webby nomination

Accessibility compliance: WCAG 2.1 AA

Timeline delivery: 4 months

Overview

FX Networks partnered with creative agency Huge / Elephant.is to reimagine its flagship website, delivering a high-impact, editorially inspired experience that could flex across a diverse programming slate — from prestige limited series to cult comedies. The redesign not only modernized the brand’s digital presence but also earned a 2023 Webby Award nomination.

Challenge

FX needed to replace its aging web platform with a modern, scalable site that:

• Delivered all of this within a tight four-month contract window
• Showcased the breadth of the network’s shows while maintaining brand cohesion
• Supported a CMS replatform without disrupting marketing timelines
• Met WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility, SEO, and performance best practices

My Role

Lead Product Manager (May 2021 – Aug 2021)

• Defined and documented actionable feature requirements from stakeholder input
• Led weekly design reviews to ensure brand consistency, accessibility, and SEO compliance
• Partnered closely with creative and engineering teams to ensure visual fidelity in CMS implementation
• Ensured launch readiness for accessibility, performance, and marketing deadlines

Process

• Began with a rapid discovery sprint to align creative, engineering, and content teams
• Translated high-level creative direction into clear, implementable requirements for the development team
• Facilitated a feature prioritization session with the client using an adapted MoSCoW framework, running a multi-pass review to distinguish MVP essentials from fast-follow enhancements
• Established a compliance checklist for accessibility, SEO, and visual quality
• Held weekly design and development review sessions to safeguard quality and adherence to accessibility standards
• Coordinated stakeholder sign-offs at key milestones to maintain momentum and avoid last-minute rework

Key Outcomes

• Webby Nomination 2023 for Website Redesign in the Entertainment category
• Delivered a visually rich, editorially inspired site showcasing FX’s diverse programming
• Achieved full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance at launch
• Enhanced SEO performance through structured content and best practices
• Met all launch deadlines despite an aggressive project timeline

Reflection

When timelines are tight, design and accessibility can’t be trade-offs — they have to advance together. Balancing visual ambition with WCAG compliance was the key to delivering a site that looked great and worked for everyone.

🎥 Sizzle Reel — Behind the scenes of the redesign process

Prioritization Session

Once requirements were gathered and internally approved, we facilitated a client prioritization session. We adapted MoSCoW (Must / Should / Could / Won't) into a plain-language three-tier scale and designed a multi-pass refinement process — first flagging disagreements, then resolving them, then rank-ordering within tiers — to surface true MVP essentials versus fast-follows. I created a brief deck to frame the session's goals and rules of engagement.

Key Questions

How did you deliver a WCAG-compliant website on a 4-month timeline?

By making accessibility a compliance checklist built into the weekly design and development review cadence from day one, not a QA gate at the end. Weekly reviews with creative and engineering caught issues before they compounded, and stakeholder sign-offs at key milestones avoided late-stage rework.

How do you prioritize features with a new client on a tight deadline?

On FX Networks, Bex ran an adapted MoSCoW session using a plain-language three-tier scale and a multi-pass refinement process. The first pass flagged disagreements; the second resolved them; the third rank-ordered within tiers. The output was a clear MVP scope with agreed fast-follow enhancements.

How do you manage a website project running through a creative agency?

By staying embedded in the design process without taking over the creative. Bex translated high-level creative direction into actionable engineering requirements, ran weekly quality reviews, and ensured client sign-offs happened on time to protect the launch window.