Municipality of Deurne opts for customization in our website powered by Drupal

Municipality Deurne chose to create the new website with our website solution in Drupal. It became a nice combination of customization and using what is available. A challenging project with a very positive response from residents and colleagues of the municipality. 

The old website needed a new look and a clear structure. A number of other digital services are also being revamped so that the municipality can use well-matched resources. "For example, we are products and services catalog Felix is in the process of being implemented. Also, the internal information provided by the customer contact center itself in Felix enters, can then be published and monitored from the same source," says René Janssen, project leader of online services at Deurne Municipality.

Other use of top tasks

A good structure and own design was important for the website. René: "To apply the design and structure we had in mind, a new template had to be built. With the top tasks on the homepage, for example, you can still see a block underneath. We can use that optionally. This allows us to use the top tasks differently. For example, the waste calendar is a much sought-after item. As a visitor, you don't want to go to waste first and search for the calendar there. In this case, we put the waste calendar on the top task and in the bar below you can use the link to 'all about waste'. That layout makes it nice and clear."

Screenshot front page website deurne

Overview and clarity

Another adjustment is in the menu. Municipality Deurne has chosen not to divide the homepage into target groups. Under the button 'menu' you can see a complete overview of topics. These are arranged by target group. Again, the rationale is more overview and clarity. In addition, findability within the website has improved. René: "We get enthusiastic reactions to the improved search results."

Control of design

Finally, adjustments have been made to allow some style elements to be customized themselves. René: "We ourselves want a little more control over the formatting of, for example, buttons and drop-down boxes for clarity. That is sometimes in small things, such as the display of the font size. With the adjustment in the style elements, we can fine-tune that further. We also use the templates available within the CMS, for example for projects or election information. A lot is possible. And the CMS is user-friendly thanks to Shift2's own shell."

More engagement

The website has been well received by residents and colleagues. "We made a conscious decision during implementation not to automatically transfer the content from the old site. The content was immediately updated. We process further improvements and wishes using a paging system. That works well. We get a lot of reactions from within the organization, and also from residents. There is more involvement. This is partly due to the improved structure and clear design. And there are many more possibilities to offer information. The big challenge now is to ensure that we monitor the agreed concepts.

Open and honest

René is very pleased with the approach to the project."Working with fixed project days is pleasant. The cooperation went fine and the atmosphere was good. At Deurne Municipality we like openness and honesty. We found that at Shift2. If something wasn't possible, we got immediate feedback with a solution. Do I have a tip? Yes, for other municipalities: take Felix directly when developing a new website. That adds value to the content."

Also ready for a new website for your municipality? Then contact us without obligation! Then together we will look at the appropriate customization for your municipality. 

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