Website Improvement Program
Announcement
Our Website Navigation Test is live from Tuesday 22 September to Friday 9 October. The short test will help us understand how our community looks for Council information and inform a simpler, more intuitive website structure that makes information and services easier to find.
- Project typeCommunication and Engagment
- Project scheduleDesign Phase
- Contractor nameGranicus (Website provider)
- Completion Date01 February 2027
We’re working to make Bellingen Shire Council’s website simpler, clearer and easier to navigate.
Whether you’re looking for information about your rates, checking a waste service, finding a Council project, submitting a form or having your say, we want it to be easier to find what you need.
During 2025/26, Council’s Communications and Engagement Team completed a comprehensive audit of our website, reviewing around 900 pages to better understand what was working, what could be improved and where information had become outdated, duplicated or difficult to find.
The audit identified a clear opportunity to simplify the website and create a more customer-focused experience.
Our Website Improvement Program will now turn those findings into action.
Take the five-minute website navigation test
The test is open from Tuesday 22 September to Friday 8 October 2026.
What are we improving?
Over the coming months, we’ll be working across Council to:
- simplify the way information is organised so it is easier to navigate
- reduce duplicate, outdated and unnecessary pages
- review and update existing website content
- improve the way people find commonly used information and services
- introduce a clearer, more customer-focused website structure
- refresh the homepage to make key information and services easier to access
- improve how website content is managed and maintained into the future.
This isn’t about changing everything for the sake of it. It’s about making the website work better for the people who use it.
Help us test the new navigation
Before we introduce the new website structure, we want to make sure it makes sense to the people who use it.
We’re inviting community members to take part in a short five-minute navigation test.
You’ll be given 10 simple tasks and asked where you would expect to find particular information on Council’s website. There are no right or wrong answers — we’re testing the website structure, not you.The tasks have been selected based on some of our most visited and searched-for information, as well as new navigation options we are considering. Your responses will help us understand whether the proposed structure is intuitive and identify areas that may need further improvement before it is introduced.
What will happen to the current website?
Our current website will remain live and available while we work behind the scenes on the improvements. In the meantime, we’ll be working through existing content, archiving outdated pages and documents, consolidating duplicate information and preparing content for the new website structure. You may notice some information or pages move around during this process as we start tidying things up.
What happens next?
The results of the navigation testing will help us refine the new website structure before we begin reorganising content and introducing the refreshed homepage.This page will be updated as the Website Improvement Program progresses, including information about upcoming changes and opportunities for the community to provide feedback.
Our goal is simple: a Council website that helps you find what you need, more easily.