Launching our new Newark and Sherwood District Council website
By Sian Motley – Project Manager
It’s now been a month since we launched the new Newark and Sherwood District Council website, with the homepage going live on Wednesday 27 May, marking the final phase of a significant transformation project for the council.
This was a truly cross-council effort, shaped by the input, feedback and expertise of colleagues across all services.
Why we made the change
Before this project began, we knew something needed to change.
While our previous website (built on Terminal 4) had served us well, it increasingly presented challenges, both for residents trying to use it and for colleagues managing it day-to-day.
For residents, finding information wasn’t always straightforward. Content had grown over time, navigation didn’t always reflect how people actually think about council services, and there was heavy reliance on PDFs which aren’t always accessible or mobile-friendly.
For staff, maintaining content had become more complex and time-consuming. The system made it harder to keep information consistent, accessible and up to date at the pace needed, particularly as demand for digital services continues to grow.
At the same time, external pressures were increasing. New Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 level AA standards, combined with rising expectations for digital services, meant the case for change had been building for some time.
This was the right moment to act – driven by a combination of compliance requirements, the need to improve customer experience, and a clear ambition within the Council to strengthen our digital offering – with no customer left behind – as set out in our digital strategy.
Choosing the right platform
When we explored our options, it was important that we didn’t just replace one system with another – we needed a solution designed for local government and built around user needs.
LocalGov Drupal stood out for a number of reasons:
- It’s specifically designed for councils, using proven content patterns and structures
- Accessibility is built in from the start, rather than retrofitted
- It’s open-source, offering flexibility and long-term value
- It enables collaboration with other councils, sharing best practice and continuous improvement
We did consider alternative platforms, but LocalGov Drupal’s strong alignment with Government Digital Service standards and its growing adoption across the sector gave us confidence that it was the right choice for our future.
Working in partnership with Rohallion
We delivered this project in partnership with Rohallion, who acted as our main contractor across content design, interaction design and technical delivery.
Having a single partner coordinating the full project brought real benefits. It ensured:
- A consistent approach across design, build and content
- Clear accountability and decision-making
- Strong collaboration between our internal teams and delivery specialists
We were working with years of accumulated content that had not been consistently reviewed. Rohallion helped us take a clear, evidence-based view on what content is genuinely useful to residents. Our new website is clearer, more task-focused and built around real customer needs rather than simply organisational messaging. This partnership will have a lasting impact on how we manage and create content in the future.
Starting small: our beta approach
Rather than attempting a full site switch in one go, we took an iterative, phased approach – starting with a beta launch focused on three high-demand service areas:
- Council Tax
- Benefits and Financial Support
- Bins, Waste and Recycling
These were deliberately chosen because they represent some of the most frequently used and searched-for services on our website: the journeys that matter most to residents and generate the highest levels of contact.
Starting with a beta allowed us to test, learn and refine before scaling up. It gave us the opportunity to:
- Validate the new navigation and structure
- Test content design and user journeys
- Gather feedback early and make improvements quickly
Learning as we went
Moving to LocalGov Drupal wasn’t just a technical change, it was a shift in how we create and manage content.
The beta phase played a crucial role in shaping the rest of the project.
It highlighted the importance of:
- Writing in plain English and designing content around tasks, not services
- Reducing reliance on PDFs and moving content into accessible web formats
- Structuring information consistently to support both navigation and search
- Designing with mobile-first and accessibility principles from the outset
These lessons informed how we approached every section that followed, helping us build a more consistent, user-focused experience across the site.
Tackling the complex bits
As with any large-scale migration, some elements required more problem-solving than others.
The following areas all required careful planning and collaboration:
- Integrating forms and transactional services
- Ensuring smooth redirects from old to new content
- Reviewing and reducing reliance on legacy PDFs
By taking a phased approach, we were able to work through these challenges in a controlled and manageable way, ensuring a smoother experience for both residents and staff.
What’s changed
The new website represents a significant step forward.
For residents, it offers:
- A clearer, more intuitive navigation structure
- Simpler, easier-to-understand content
- A fully responsive design that works across all devices
- Improved accessibility
For our teams, it provides:
- A more flexible and user-friendly content management system
- Clearer structures and standards for content creation
- A stronger foundation for ongoing improvement and innovation
A platform for the future
Our website is the most widely used way for residents to interact with the council – supporting transactions, providing information and reducing demand on other services.
This project is a key part of our wider digital strategy, helping us:
- Improve customer experience
- Increase digital take-up
- Ensure no customer is left behind
Looking ahead
While this launch is a major milestone, it’s not the end of the journey.
We’ll continue to:
- Refine and improve content
- Migrate and align other council websites
- Monitor performance and user behaviour
- Act on feedback from residents and colleagues
This will remain an ongoing, iterative process – just as digital services should be!
Advice for other councils
For councils still using legacy platforms, our key message would be: don’t wait for the perfect moment, instead just focus on the right approach.
You don’t need to do everything at once. Starting small, learning quickly, and building momentum through an iterative approach can make a complex transformation far more manageable.
Most importantly, keep the focus on user needs. Technology matters, but how people experience your services matters more.
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved together and excited about what comes next.
