Bringing government closer: a redesign of a public agency’s website

Simplifying government access for everyday users.

A government website isn’t just about information–it’s about people. By redesigning the platform with the needs of vulnerable youth, parents, and social workers in mind, we created a space that’s not only functional but accessible and engaging, making critical resources easier to navigate and use.

Context

The Flemish Agency for Youth Welfare was a government organization dedicated to supporting at-risk minors, whether they face domestic challenges or legal difficulties.

Hired as their webmaster to modernize and redevelop their public-facing website, I recognized an opportunity to go beyond graphics and technical implementation, and apply a user-centred approach throughout the project.

Challenge

The agency’s website was very organization-focused: its design valued internal structures and governmental language over visitor needs. It was extremely text-heavy and lacking visual hierarchy. Poor information architecture made available information often overlooked or unfound.

Furthermore, the website was aimed solely at desktop users, requiring also to address mobile responsiveness.

Solution

Through user research and involvement, we shaped responsive solutions that prioritize people over bureaucracy, addressing specific target group needs while aligning with the agency's values and mission.

Approach

Content analysis and strategy

  • Audit: conducted a comprehensive audit of existing content and visitor analytics.
  • Simplification: collaborated with stakeholders to simplify “governmental speech” and rewrite key pages in plain, accessible language.

User research

  • Audience specification: defined three core user groups—vulnerable youth, parents, and youth welfare professionals—each with distinct needs and priorities.
  • Workshops and exercises: organized interactive workshops to gather input directly from target users and indirectly from agency stakeholders, exploring both their expectations and their perceptions of the organization.

Information architecture

  • Reorganisation: used card sorting and tree testing to reorganise content in a clear, user-friendly way.
  • Balancing needs: developed a new IA that balanced the agency’s organisational requirements with user-centric navigation paths.

Design and implementation

  • Visual clarity: introduced visual hierarchy principles and accessible typography to present content more clearly.
  • Mobile-first design: ensured mobile responsiveness and accessibility compliance for all pages.

Iterative testing and feedback

  • Wireframes and prototypes: began with paper prototypes to validate initial ideas; progressed to digital prototypes for usability testing.
  • Improvements: made continuous improvements based on user input and stakeholder reviews.

Outcomes

The project delivered significant qualitative improvements across key areas:

  • Modernised responsive design: a welcoming, youth-friendly design with visually engaging elements to draw in younger audiences while respecting the agency’s branding guidelines and its role to inform.
  • Improved user navigation: restructured content with simplified language, clearly labelled sections, and target audience specific pathways to help visitors find guidance and resources quickly.
  • Foundation for future growth: provided a scalable framework that the agency could build upon for future digital initiatives.
Screenshot of the original website homepage, which was text-heavy and lacked a clear visual hierarchy.
The original homepage was text-heavy and news-focused, with an unclear structure that made it difficult to find key information.
Screenshot of the redesigned website homepage, featuring improved visual hierarchy and focus on target groups.
The redesigned homepage offers a modern layout, prioritizing the three main target audiences. A mega menu clarifies the information architecture and improves content accessibility.

Reflections

This project was a pivotal, all-encompassing experience in my journey toward UX design, teaching me valuable lessons:

  • User-centred advocacy: leading user research and workshops highlighted the importance of advocating for user needs, even in a traditionally organization-focused environment. Target audiences can also be very diverse in terms of needs and expectations.
  • Balancing stakeholder goals and user needs: the project reinforced the value of finding common ground between meeting business objectives and delivering a positive user experience. On the one hand, a government agency needs to abide to certain “governmental” and legal rules, but on the other hand it needs to serve the people.

Although I didn’t realize it at the time, this project laid the foundation for my UX career, instilling principles of empathy, user advocacy, and evidence-based design that continue to shape my work today.