Cscape goes to work on Ealing Council website

Cscape has completed the consultation process for its redesign of Ealing Council’s website, which will relaunch later this year.

The redesign is part of the Government’s £25m commitment to improving local government on-line services by 2005, which could see a variety of local council website design work come up for grabs.

The aim of the redesign is to simplify the site – at www.ealing. gov.UK – and make it easier to navigate. According to Cscape head of design Richard Sedley, ‘Local government websites usually replicate the structure of the organisation, which makes them notoriously difficult to navigate.

‘We will restructure the site based around its visitors’ needs rather than the council’s different departments,’ he adds.

The site will be tailored to different user groups, from non-English speaking residents to local businesses. Cscape is undertaking research among its core users, the results of which will influence the design and navigation of the site and the type of technology used.

According to Sedley, it is ‘unlikely’ that Ealing Council’s identity will change. The consultancy was appointed on the strength of previous work with the Cabinet Office.

Cscape is also working on a separate on-line project for the Royal Borough of Kingston Council.