How to run a smooth Government website project

When a government website project runs into trouble, the technology is rarely the cause. More often, it comes down to how decisions get made.

Whether you're rebuilding a council website or a state government agency site, there are a lot of stakeholders. Every team has its own priorities. Executives, elected members and different departments have their own views. And once the site goes live, the whole community gets an opinion too.

Without a clear way to make decisions, projects can stall in debate, drift outside scope and miss their launch date.

We've been delivering government websites for close to two decades. In that time, we've seen what keeps a website build on track, and what quietly derails it. Here are five practical approaches to help you make confident decisions, manage stakeholders and launch a website your community will find easy to use.

1. Start with user research, and let data make the decisions

A smooth website project starts by understanding the people who'll use the website. Before anyone debates layouts or features, find out what your audience actually needs.

For a council, data might show that residents typically visit to check bin days, pay rates and book facilities. For a state government agency, it might show that people visit the site to check their eligibility for a grant, renew a licence or find out how to apply for a program. Whatever the findings, those tasks should shape the design. Not the latest internal preference, and not what another organisation has done.

User research can include surveys, interviews, user testing and building audience personas. It also gives you something every government website project needs: evidence.

When opinions clash later in the project, that evidence becomes your best tie-breaker. Letting data guide your website design:

• Reduces debate. It's much easier to resolve a disagreement when the evidence points clearly in one direction.
• Empowers your project manager. Decisions can be made faster, with a clear rationale behind them.
• Gives your community a better experience. The website is built around what people actually need.
• Makes your stakeholders look good. Delivering what the community asked for is a strong outcome to report on.
• Leads to better results after launch. A site built on evidence is more likely to improve online self-service and reduce unnecessary calls and enquiries.
• Gives you a stronger defence if complaints arise. If the public questions a design decision after launch, you can show it was based on research, not guesswork.
• Supports SEO and AI search visibility. Google and AI search platforms favour websites that are easy to use and answer people's questions clearly. (We cover this in more detail in how local government websites can be found in AI search results.)

Quick tip: You probably already have more useful data than you think. Look at your website analytics, top on-site search terms, customer service call reasons and any community surveys. Combined with user testing, these give you a clear picture of what your audience needs. Our article on how user research works explains the process step by step.

2. Set expectations: not everyone will agree

On a government website project, everyone has an opinion. More often than not, those opinions don't line up.

At a council, the library team wants events on the homepage while waste services want bin day information front and centre. At a state agency, each program team wants its own initiative featured, and the communications team wants the latest news and campaigns prominent. All of these requests are reasonable. They just can't all be the top priority.

Trying to keep everyone happy usually leads to a cluttered website, a longer timeline and a frustrated project team. The goal isn't to eliminate disagreement. It's to agree early on how decisions will be made, so disagreement doesn't stop progress.

However your organisation approaches it, setting expectations early helps stakeholders understand that their input is valued, even if not every request makes it into the initial build.

When people understand the process, they're far more likely to accept the outcome, even when it isn't the one they wanted.

3. Work out your decision makers early, and bring them into the room

One of the most common causes of delay in a website project is a decision being made, then revisited weeks later by someone who wasn't in the meeting.

Avoid this by identifying your decision makers at the very start of the project. Be clear about who:

• Needs to be consulted on each area of the website
• Has final sign-off on design, content and functionality
• Should be kept informed of progress

In local government, that might include your CEO, directors and service area managers. In state government, it could include executive directors, branch managers and program leads. Then bring the people with sign-off authority into key meetings, such as discovery workshops and design presentations. When decision makers hear the reasoning first-hand, they're less likely to overturn decisions later.

Why it matters: Clear decision-making means less rework, fewer delays and a project manager who can move forward with confidence instead of chasing approvals.

Quick tip: Agree a simple decision-making process at the project kickoff. Note who decides on what, and how long they have to give feedback. A short, agreed turnaround time can keep the whole project on schedule.

4. Focus on the purpose, not the feature

Stakeholders often come to a project with a solution already in mind. "We need a chatbot." "We need a portal." "We need a carousel on the homepage."

Instead of starting with the feature, start with the problem it's meant to solve.

For example, rather than asking for a chatbot, ask:

"How can people quickly and easily find the information they need?"

A chatbot might be one answer. But a well-designed search function, clear navigation and well-structured content may do the job better, with less cost, less risk and less ongoing maintenance. Your user research will often point you to the right answer. (For ideas, see 5 things residents wish their council website did better.)

When gathering requirements, ask stakeholders:

• What problem are we trying to solve?
• Who is it for?
• How will we know it's working?
• Is there a simpler way to achieve the same result?

Why it matters: Purpose-led requirements keep the scope focused, avoid investing in features people won't use, and help your team choose the solution that delivers the best outcome, not just the one that sounds most impressive.

5. Launch with your core scope, then build in phases

It's tempting to try to fit everything into the initial build. After all, a new government website doesn't come along often.

But every extra feature added mid-project adds risk. It can push out timelines, stretch budgets and pull attention away from getting the essentials right.

A smoother approach is to:

1. Deliver what was originally planned. Stick to the agreed scope for launch.
2. Gather real feedback. Once the website is live, listen to your community and watch how they use it.
3. Improve from there. Use that feedback and data to decide what to build next.

Keep a website wish list throughout the project. When a good idea comes up that's outside the current scope, add it to the list rather than squeezing it in. That way, stakeholders know their ideas haven't been lost, just scheduled.

Why it matters: A phased approach reduces risk, protects your launch date and means future improvements are based on how people actually use the website.

Quick tip: Plan for life after launch before you go live. Proactive website support helps you work through your wish list and keep improving the experience.

A smooth project leads to a better website for your community

A smooth website project isn't one where everyone agrees on everything. It's one where:

• User research and data guide the decisions
• Expectations are set early
• Decision makers are clear and involved from the start
• Requirements are based on purpose, not features
• The scope is protected, and good ideas are saved for later phases

Get these right and you'll do more than launch on time. You'll deliver a government website built around what people need, one that helps them find information faster, complete tasks online and contact your customer service team less often.

You don't have to manage it alone

With close to two decades of experience delivering government websites, we know a successful build depends as much on people and process as it does on design and technology.

Our team works alongside yours throughout the project. We help you:

• Gather the evidence you need through user research, analytics and testing
• Bring stakeholders together through facilitated discovery and design workshops
• Turn requests into clear requirements that focus on community outcomes
• Keep the project on track with a clear scope and a structured approach to decisions
• Keep improving after launch with proactive support and a roadmap for your wish list

The aim is to empower your project team. With clear evidence and a structured process behind you, it's much easier to manage stakeholder expectations and make confident decisions.

We build local government websites and state government websites on Xperience by Kentico, an enterprise CMS that gives marketing and communications teams the control to manage content, add new pages and features over time, and keep improving the website long after launch. That makes it well suited to a phased approach. Learn more about Xperience by Kentico for government teams.

Planning a new government website?

Whether you're preparing a business case or about to start your build, we're happy to share what we've learnt. Talk to us about your website project, or sign up to our monthly newsletter for marketing and communications teams in government.