Stirling Council
Citizen-centred design.
The ask
Local council websites can be challenging prospects when it comes to digital transformation. They can be a rabbit warren of content for all manner of services and different types of users. Delivering a transformed website and intranet for Stirling Council was no exception.
Stirling Council serves around 100,000 people and for many the web is the first place they go to enquire about and access essential services.
It was key that we communicated to the client the true volume of work involved and the resource required on their side. It's important that clients don't underestimate the impact content load can have on delivery timescales. We also needed to get senior stakeholder buy-in to push through internal changes. This was particularly challenging with a local election mid-project.
We ensured that Stirling citizens were at the heart of the project. We conducted user research at multiple points to ensure members of the community were part of the design process. Inclusiveness was also a key consideration. The new website was built to align with accessibility best practice, ensuring all citizens can access important council services.
We used Umbraco to provide templates and components to meet content needs. For the intranet we made use of Microsoft 365's robust, reliable platform.
"The changes have all been led by our residents... which will make the user experience better for everyone."
Shortly after successful launch, the site experienced a malicious and severe DDoS attack from a Russian-backed hacker group. Our team were amazing at rapid intervention and resolution.