Halton Region
About our partner
The Halton Region of Ontario is located in Southern Ontario, comprising of Burlington, Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hills. As one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, they serve a population of approximately 600,000.
Project drivers
Halton Region was interested in developing a municipal website that could better communicate regional news, events, and services to residents, tourists, and local businesses. Sandbox sat down with Halton’s citizens and municipal authorities to understand the previous website’s pitfalls and gain a better understanding of the features and design components needed to enhance the new project at hand.
What we accomplished
Our Digital and Content Strategists facilitated several in-person discovery and research workshops with Halton stakeholders. Results generated from these sessions helped form recommendations for the information architecture, design, and technical requirements of the new website.
In supporting the Region of Halton in completing research, analysis, recommendations and creative design, which would aid in gathering the requirements for the redevelopment of the Region’s primary website, Halton.ca, Sandbox conducted several activities.
Sandbox redesigned the Halton Region website to be cross-browser and user-friendly for stakeholders. Our content strategists improved navigation with a simplified site map. The site was integrated with an advanced search portal and Help System that now boldly occupies the homepage and stands out to users of all ages. These two features help users locate services, take pressure off municipal phone lines, and allow municipal administrators to spend more time attending to urgent inquiries and emergencies.
As organized content makes for better browsing, Halton’s streamlined web solution has allowed the region to communicate more efficiently with its online audience. Clean and vibrant graphics emphasize Halton’s unique charm, and the selection of an intuitive Content Management System allows employees to easily update photos, information, and legal documents when needed. In addition, the language and accessibility standards that are integrated into the municipal website ensure that a diverse audience can now use the site to its full capacity.
Project Details
Project Goals
- Facilitate stakeholder engagement workshops and deliver a research and findings report
- Develop a phased implementation plan that considers all milestones and requirements
- Develop a new Information Architecture through a consultative and iterative process that will form the foundation for the new Halton.ca
- Design a custom, user-centric creative concept that aligns with Halton’s visual identity
- Significantly reduce page count of the existing site and streamline content for the new Halton.ca
Delivered
- Digital Strategy (Advisory Boards, Focus Groups, Stakeholder Interviews and Card Sorts)
- Full audit of previous website (including content and web analytics)
- Identifying Key Performance Indicators for the new site
- Reduction in page count from over 6,000 to under 500 pages
- Designing the new site (including mobile)
- Support in selecting an appropriate content management system
- Providing an execution Project Plan for Halton’s internal team
- Conducting Usability Testing
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