Client: Forschungsmittel.com — specialised consultancy for R&D funding and innovation grants in Germany Industry: B2B consulting, R&D funding, innovation Scope: Website relaunch, technical architecture, performance, SEO, security, content & information architecture We helped Forschungsmittel.com transform a traditional brochure-style website into a modern, conversion-ready platform that looks and behaves like a SaaS product: fast, structured, secure, and built around the full funding journey of German enterprises, research institutions, and startups.

Challenge

Forschungsmittel operates in a high-trust, high-stakes environment: they advise on six- and seven-figure funding projects. Their old website no longer matched that reality. The new digital platform had to:

Translate complex funding programmes into clear, approachable content
Build authority and trust for decision-makers in enterprises and research institutions
Be fully GDPR-compliant and technically robust by German standards
Deliver Core Web Vitals in the green – even on slow mobile networks
Support a scalable content & SEO strategy around Fördermittel, Förderprogramme, Zielgruppen and Whitepapers
Act as a hub for future integrations (CRM, marketing automation, analytics)

In short: the client wanted a site that feels like a professional product, not a nice-looking PDF.

Our Approach

1. Modern Architecture & Stack

We rebuilt the platform on a modern, type-safe, performance-focused stack: • Framework: Next.js 16 (App Router, Server Components, Turbopack) • Frontend: React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS • Rendering: Hybrid SSR + static generation with Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) • Animations: Framer Motion for smooth, GPU-accelerated transitions • Hosting: Vercel Edge infrastructure with global CDN • CI/CD: Automated pipeline with preview deployments, linting, type-checking and Lighthouse gates This gives Forschungsmittel: • predictable releases (no FTP, no manual deployment) • fast cold starts and stable performance • a stack that can be extended by any modern React / Next.js team

2. Design System & UX: Consulting That Feels Like SaaS

We designed the UX to feel closer to a fintech / SaaS product than a typical consulting website. Key patterns:

Clear journeys for each ICP: Fördermittel-Check (lead magnet), Fördermittel-Beratung (service explanation), Förderprogramme (deep programme pages), Für wen? (target-group specific landing pages)
Section patterns that lead users step by step: From "What is funding?" → to "Which program fits?" → to "How do we apply together?"
Multi-step, validated contact forms with structured data capture
Strong use of social proof via success stories, volumes, and expertise signals

Typography, contrast, spacing and icons were tuned for clarity and authority, not marketing buzz.

3. Performance & Core Web Vitals

For a consulting business, speed translates directly into trust and lead quality. We engineered the project around Core Web Vitals from day one. Latest Lighthouse audit (Mobile, Slow 4G, Lighthouse 13): • Performance: 98 / 100 • LCP: 2.3 s • FCP: 1.2 s • TBT: 30 ms • CLS: 0.003 • Speed Index: 3.3 s How we achieved it:

SSR with modern Next.js and minimal blocking JS
next/image everywhere with WebP/AVIF and responsive sizes
Lazy loading for non-critical media, preloading hero assets
Dynamic imports for 14+ components to keep bundle size low
Removal of legacy polyfills and unused JS (~45 KB saved)
Explicit width/height on images → near-zero layout shifts
font-display: swap and preloaded core fonts to avoid invisible text

Result: the site stays fast and stable even on mid-range Android devices on slow 4G, matching Google's real-user testing conditions.

Forschungsmittel Compliance & Performance

4. Security, Compliance & GDPR

Although the platform doesn't process confidential project data directly, it represents a professional advisory brand in a regulated space. The infrastructure and app were built with a security-first mindset: • Hosting & infra: Deployed on Vercel with isolated environments (Preview / Production), HTTPS-only, HSTS enforced, No exposed SSH surface, no manual server access • Environment & secrets: Strict separation of client/server data, No secrets exposed to the browser, API keys encrypted and used only server-side • Application security: Prepared Content-Security-Policy with nonces / hashes, COOP / COEP for cross-origin isolation, Trusted Types-ready architecture, No unsafe dynamic script injection, server-side escaping by default • Form security: Encrypted transport, server-side validation, Honeypot spam protection, No unnecessary PII stored on the client • Privacy & GDPR: Minimal data collection (only what is needed for consulting), Explicit opt-ins and privacy policy confirmation, EU-only data storage, no non-EU analytics exports, Clear support for user rights (access, deletion, correction, withdrawal)

This gives Forschungsmittel a technically credible security posture that matches the expectations of German enterprises and research institutions.

5. SEO Architecture & Content Strategy

Forschungsmittel doesn't just need "a site that ranks" — it needs to own the topic of Fördermittel in its niche. We designed the entire domain as a topic-first, intent-driven system, not a collection of isolated pages. Key elements:

Clear intent clusters: Advisory & transactions (Fördermittel-Beratung, Fördermittel-Check, Kontakt), Programme cluster (ZIM, KMU-innovativ, EXIST, Digital Jetzt, WIPANO, Horizon Europe), ICP cluster (Unternehmen, Forschungseinrichtungen, Startups), Knowledge cluster (Whitepaper, Förderkompass, Leitfaden Mittelstand, Glossar), Case studies & authority content
Information architecture as "funding journey": From first research → to understanding programmes → to ICP-specific guidance → to advisory & check
Internal linking strategy: Minimum 6 internal links per important page, Strong central hub in /foerdermittel-beratung, Program pages interlinked and always leading back to advisory & check, Glossary and resources acting as authority feeders into commercial pages
Structured data (Schema.org): Organization, WebSite, WebPage, BreadcrumbList globally, Service markup for advisory & program pages, FAQPage for Q&A-heavy sections, Article + ItemList for knowledge cluster and case studies

Together this creates a closed semantic system around Fördermittel – exactly the kind of topical authority Google rewards in 2024–2025.

Results

Within the first months after launch: +42% increase in conversions from contact forms and the Fördermittel-Check
Significant improvements in rankings for: Fördermittel Beratung, Fördermittel beantragen, Zuschuss Antrag, Förderung Startups
Consistently green Core Web Vitals, even under strict mobile test conditions
A flexible architecture ready for: deeper marketing automation, CRM integrations (e.g. HubSpot), expanded program and content clusters
A platform that now reflects the actual scale, expertise and seriousness of the consultancy

Key Takeaways

Traditional consulting can look and behave like SaaS – without losing its credibility.
Investing in architecture, performance and security from day one pays off in both SEO and lead quality.
A carefully designed topic & cluster strategy turns a website into a genuine knowledge platform, not just a digital brochure.
With a modern stack (Next.js 16, React 19, Tailwind) and CI/CD-first mindset, professional service firms can iterate as fast as startups – without accumulating technical debt.