The Background

Has your community ever experienced a time when change was inevitable, yet things turned out amazing because the outcomes surpassed your expectations? This was the experience for staff at the Township of Selwyn and their successful municipal website redesign.

The Township of Selwyn had an established website that was operating ‘just fine’. It met their basic needs, and staff were familiar with the workarounds and patient enough to get the job done. It wasn’t until they were presented with the opportunity to upgrade their website, prompted by the retirement of a legacy platform, that Meaghan Larocque, the Communications and Marketing Coordinator, and her team recognized the gaps and opportunities ahead.

We were not in the market for a new website. But now that we have Govstack, we know what we’ve been missing! – Meaghan Larocque, Manager, Corporate Communications, Township of Selwyn

The Challenge: Realizing Digital Potential

From the staff perspective – Staff quickly recognized a key gap: the website served as a critical source of truth for supporting staff operations and staff frequently experienced frustration due to poor navigation. This made it difficult to find the essential information needed to perform their jobs and answer residents’ questions promptly.

From a user experience point of view – Staff recognized that the website’s design and navigation needed an upgrade. The previous layout was visually restrictive, buried content several clicks deep and provided limited options for presenting information. This made it difficult for residents to find the key information they needed, like bylaws and policies.

Implementation Process: From Barriers to Breakthroughs

Faced with the barriers and the retirement of their legacy platform, the Township saw a strategic opportunity. They proactively migrated to Govstack by GHD Digital, choosing a solution that was modern, flexible, and capable of meeting their goals. Their top priorities included a gaining greater control, improving visual appeal, and streamlining content management.

The migration to Govstack delivered on its promises, resulting in immediate and significant improvements for both staff and residents.Meaghan praised how invaluable the responsiveness of the Govstack project manager was, noting how they resolved issues and provided real-time guidance. The Township staff also benefited from accessible training and resources, which helped the editing team adopt consistent writing practices - reducing clicks and ensuring content remained accessible to all.

The Impact

Enhanced User Experience and Navigation
The new website is far more intuitive for residents. The team redesigned the main menu, moving away from department centric navigation to user-focused sections like “Discover” and “Explore.” New features like pop-ups and a top banner help prioritize messages and offer multiple ways for users to engage with critical content. The website now serves as a central source of truth – not just for staff, but for the community.

Enhanced Visual Control Gives Source of Pride
Staff embraced the creative freedom they experienced with Govstack. They now freely control features like pods, background colours, image sizes and embedded content – all in-house. For example, they embedded a Spotify playlist to promote an upcoming festival and created a data table to easily display hours of operation for different services. Meaghan Larocque also expressed her excitement about using their photo libraries to further promote their unique community aspects and make the website a source of pride for residents.

Positive Public Reception
The community responded positively to the website’s modern look, particularly on social media. Residents appreciated the professional design and engaging digital presence, which reflects the Township’s commitment to modernization.

Conclusion

The Township of Selwyn’s proactive move to Govstack was a strategic decision that continues to deliver value. By upgrading their digital platform, they created a website that’s easy for residents to use and simple for staff to manage. The team at the Township can’t wait to dive into creating new content pages, exploring the Govstack’s vast capabilities and highlighting their community with pride.