Important renewal succeeds: Mentalhub.fi doubles its traffic, now over 4 million annual visitors

What is HUS?

HUS (Helsinki University Hospital) is Finland’s largest healthcare organization. In addition to providing specialized medical care in the Uusimaa region, HUS is responsible nationwide for the treatment of many rare and difficult diseases. As a university hospital, HUS continuously does research and develops new treatment methods and practices.

Before the overhaul, HUS Psychiatry’s public mental health portal, Mentalhub.fi, which served over 2 million users annually, was in dire need of modernization. The technical platform, more than a decade old, lacked the functionality to meet today's demands, especially for seamless mobile access and a better overall user experience. With Finland's mental healthcare system under immense strain, offering accessible, free, and low-threshold digital support became more critical than ever.

Launched in the fall of 2021, the overhaul project focused on improving browsing, accessibility, multilingual support, and mobile optimization. The goal was to transform Mielenterveystalo.fi into a modern, high-quality, and user-friendly service.

“The importance of a user-centric approach was recognized even before the project began. Wunder’s deep expertise in service design and UX/UI provided me with the necessary support and insights to champion these priorities within HUS’s internal decision-making process. In large organizations, iterative development in small steps or focusing on the end-user's needs isn’t always a given. However, I’ve found it much easier to communicate and collaborate with Wunder’s team, and I’ve come to trust that the developers’ recommendations and solutions are thoughtfully tailored to our specific requirements.”
- Elmeri Laitinen, Psychologist, Project Lead for the online service renewal

Despite the pressure of tight deadlines, the project team embarked on the task with strong motivation. From the very beginning, it was evident that there was an urgent need for a user-friendly, functional, and freely accessible online service that could deliver reliable mental health information. With waiting times for treatment reaching unsustainable levels, many individuals find their conditions worsening as they await care.

This is where Mentalhub.fi's self-care programs become invaluable. These programs not only offer vital support for individuals to manage their mental health independently, but they also serve as a digital extension of psychiatric treatment. By incorporating these programs, psychiatric care can be streamlined, reducing the need for multiple appointments to a basic, standardized level.

A core element of the treatment process lies in the accessibility of these self-care tools. Mentalhub.fi ensures that anyone can easily access these programs openly and free of charge, at any time. Additionally, the programs can be shared with loved ones, allowing them to offer informed and timely support when needed

  “We are proud to offer approximately 50 diverse self-care programs to social and healthcare professionals. These programs are also publicly accessible, designed for end-users to adopt and use with ease. I’ve been highly satisfied with Wunder’s expertise in service design, as the end-user’s perspective has been seamlessly and consistently integrated throughout the entire process.”
- Reetta-Maria Roiha, Development Manager, Editor-in-Chief of the online service, HUS Psychiatry.

The significance of the public online service within the broader mental health landscape cannot be overstated. The more support we can provide at the early stages of mental health issues, when symptoms are still mild, the more effectively the overall mental health system functions, reducing congestion in services.

Alongside the substantial content and technical upgrades, the project faced the challenge of tight deadlines and the high volume of end-users depending on the service. Even before the revamp, Mentalhub.fi served over two million users annually, highlighting the critical need for a well-functioning and accessible platform.

The project kicked off in fall 2021 with workshops where

• we identified the most important content, such as self-care programs and themed pages addressing various psychiatric needs,
• user paths were designed,
• and the key functionalities (such as site search) were planned.

The visual design of the new online service was also refreshed, combining a modern brand image with a strong emphasis on accessibility and ease of use. The design process involved creating a clickable prototype, allowing for a user-centered approach.

In parallel with the design overhaul, a SEO (search engine optimization) analysis was conducted to optimize the content. This involved rewriting the material to enhance SEO performance. Dozens of key mental health-related terms were carefully analyzed to evaluate how the service ranked in search engine results compared to competing sites. Furthermore, clear targets were set for improving the new website’s page load speed and organic search engine visibility.

“The expectations for the project were high, and the pressure to start inputting content into the new CMS (Content Management System) was strong. We were pleasantly surprised that the adoption and implementation of the new Drupal CMS proceeded much faster than we initially anticipated.”
- Reetta-Maria Roiha, Development Manager, Editor-in-Chief of the online service, HUS Psychiatry.

The renewal of the online service was carried out using agile software development methods. The main users of the site were closely involved during the iterative development process, testing functionalities alongside the progress of technical development.

Significant efforts were made to enhance SEO visibility, ensuring that more visitors can discover the site through search engines. Special emphasis was placed on the wording of headlines and lead paragraphs to attract user engagement. Additionally, the scope of each page was intentionally kept narrow to avoid overly broad topics, allowing for a more focused approach. Content was structured specifically for web reading, breaking down large, complex sections into more digestible pieces, making it easier for users to navigate and absorb the information.

The beta site was ready in April 2022, when it was publicly released alongside the existing old online service. The new online service has received excellent feedback from basic users regarding its browsability, clarity, and visual design.

In addition to the site doubling its traffic, Wunder also received praise for the way the project was delivered and implemented.

"The project steering groups have left a positive impression. Matters were handled in a professional and calm atmosphere, even with challenging topics. Ending meetings with a ‘mood gauge’ was an excellent routine. Wunder has an open and honest atmosphere, and there have been no major financial surprises – which is important to us, given the strict budget constraints. I was positively surprised by how committed Wunder was to building the website. They understood how meaningful and socially important the service we were creating is.” 
- Reetta-Maria Roiha, Development Manager, Editor-in-Chief of the online service, HUS Psychiatry.

“Wunder’s team guided us to focus on the most feasible areas first, which helped fit broad visions into the tight timeline of the delivery project..”
-Elmeri Laitinen, Psychologist, Project Lead for the online service renewal