Puget Sound Regional Council

The PSRC determined they were in need of a website redesign, and when Drupal announced it would be sunsetting Drupal 7 (the content management system (CMS) their existing website was built with), it was a perfect opportunity to overhaul the entire site. This would allow for improvements to the functionality of the website through an updated CMS in addition to redesigning the appearance of the website and improving the navigation for users.

The PSRC wanted a new site that is informative, visually appealing, engaging, and easy to use for all visitors. They have various groups of users to consider including member organizations, the public, and staff website editors. It was determined the site must accommodate the full spectrum of user abilities and experiences so accessibilities and features such as translation capabilities was of high importance.

To ensure the new solution would meet the needs of its users, we conducted user experience (UX) testing. (See our UX testing article to learn more.) This was highly beneficial and brought consistent feedback that led to adjustments to the content and the design of the new site.

To guarantee that the PSRC's site is easy to use and accessible to all visitors, we ensured that the new website is fully responsive and meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards. By incorporating user experience (UX) testing into this project, the site is optimized so all users can find information and use the site with various devices and abilities. 

The PSRC's new website has already seen a large increase in traffic—a 58% increase in the number of website users compared to the months pre-launch. The new website features unique tools and components to provide users with an enhanced experience, including: 

• Translation tool — located prominently within the header of the website, so no matter where you are, you can translate the content to your preferred language. This is an important feature for readability and accessibility, and is becoming increasingly popular amongst government organizations.  
• Community project engagement — users can filter through various regional projects by topic or those that are gathering feedback. Users can find valuable project information such as the project timeline and the various ways to submit feedback.
• Feedback forms — allow users to easily submit feedback on the new website, providing the PSRC with valuable insights to consistently improve their digital content and address user pain points.
• Meeting documents — the prior website required users to know which meeting a document was attached to in order to find it. On the new website users can now search meeting documents by committee filter and/or keyword.