Interim web strategy development

 The project issues
The Council’s web manager had taken maternity leave and the Council was concerned that the strategic development of the website was maintained in her absence. Socitm Consulting was asked to provide interim strategic development support for the Council’s website and to advise on priority areas for improvement.

The Socitm Consulting solution
We reviewed the existing website strategy and interviewed key staff to identify the major issues. We produced reports on three priority areas for the development of the website. These included:

• A technical review covering accessibility, search engine functionality, browser compatibility, speed of site and validation errors
• A set of key priorities based on local authority best practice as defined in the Better Connected reports, including use of SMS, mapping and e-commerce
• A more comprehensive version of the Council’s most recent Better Connected report, identifying areas for improvement

We then produced a summary report, identifying key priorities from the previous reports, which included a roadmap for the Council to reach Better Connected Excellent status, with a scheduled and costed implementation programme.

The benefits to the client
With expert knowledge of website strategy development, we were able to assist the Council to maintain the strategic development of its website while key staff were on leave. The Council now has a robust and forward looking strategy for improving its web services, achieving an Excellent rating in the Better Connected reviews and delivering customer services more effectively.

Project identification
Client organisation: Surrey Heath Borough Council
Client contact: Daniel Harrison, Communications and Marketing Manager, daniel.harrison@surreyheath.gov.uk, 01276 707415 
Lead consultant: Andy Grant
Project no: 5908