I went to a Really Useful Day on user journeys for local government websites. It was pretty useful.

10 thoughts, timely reminders and things learned from LocalDirect.Gov’s Oxford Really Useful Day on Local Government websites.

1. You can look at user journeys on your site reasonably easily, but you need to start from where your residents start from.
2. Google is now your site’s homepage. Even when sat in front of a website’s home page, people will usually open a new tab and search for the content they want through Google.
3. There’s a big push to move Local Government websites to the Gov.uk style, which has its benefits in making you really think what needs to be on a page and what can be cut.
4. That said I’ve actually had mixed results with Gov.uk -it’s great for finding out how to apply for a new passport, but it’s a nightmare if you want to search for a 2 year old policy report.
5. I also don’t think the Gov.uk approach does anything for advocacy and building a positive relationship with residents. Yes it’s easy to use but the gov.uk brand is pretty sterile. Local gov websites also need to champion the work the Local Authority is doing and value it brings to residents and it’s hard to do that in a friendly way when your site has zero personality.
6. If staff write copy, it needs to be in plain English. Directorates almost never actually have to use ‘legal terminology’, whatever they say.
7. Cornwall have gone so far as to make plain english training mandatory for all staff. Interesting idea.
8. Journey mapping is essential. A site that requires you to click 14 different links to get to a council tax payment from a search page is frankly appalling. (I won’t name and shame).
9. The best way to drive the message home is to record ordinary members of the public
10. Apps are over, at least for local government. Multi-use web content is the way forward.