Brief
To reflect the formation of the new authority, Wiltshire Council required a comprehensive new website strategy which would improve accessibility for each member of the community, and allow them to utilise a broader range of information online.
Results
Following a very competitive tender process involving agencies from across the UK, Rippleffect were commissioned to provide consultancy and design services as the Council streamlined their web services during the formation of the new authority. Because of the nature of this, the project required working with a variety of local and regional stakeholders and pooling information across the county to ensure the finished site met the requirements of both the staff and the public they serve all year round.
This involved, for example, implementing user groups composed of a diverse cross-section of the community to gauge their opinions and conduct usability testing, which was then used to guide the finalised information architecture and look of the new site. The finalised designs allow users to easily browse an extensive list of services, contact the Council and register on the site; innovatively, they also allow users to personalise the site around their own local needs, including a library catalogue search, planning applications, consultations, leisure centres and traffic news and even viewing the latest weather forecasts for their area.
Integrated with a third-party content management system, the site quickly established itself as a key way of reaching out to individual members of the public and improving their access to local services online.
