Staying up to date with all the latest website trends is tricky, especially if you’re managing multiple communication channels.
To save you some time, we’ve rounded up a collection of our favourite content ideas from around the globe. Discover creative ways to make your Local Government website more engaging while creating value for your users.
Eagle Mountain, US: Useful resources
The first thing that strikes you about the website for Eagle Mountain City is its rich, earthy visuals. The area of Utah where the City is located is renowned for its unique natural landscapes, which the website captures with its colour palette and imagery. The result is an engaging user experience that’s further supported by some great functionality.
The site is packed with helpful features, but our favourite is the “Useful Resources” module. The content is split across several tabs, with each one focusing on different resident services, including paying bills, reporting issues and accessing local planning information.
This is a custom module that you could add to your website and tailor to suit the needs of your community. For example, you could add a tab about bin collection days that also includes quick links to related resources, such as guidance around what goes in each bin.
Other highlights
- Hero banner quick links
- Featured event module
- “Save” function for news and events
Northern Territory, Aus: Quiz
The Northern Territory website is designed for tourism, but many of its features would be right at home on a modern Local Government website.
Take the “NT holiday quiz”. It’s on the website’s home page and is made up of five questions, each relating to your holiday preferences. As you answer each question, you click the “Next” button to navigate through the slides, all while staying on the website’s home page. It’s only once you complete the quiz that you’re taken to a new page with your personalised itinerary of holiday suggestions.
While the holiday context may not be as relevant to Local Governments, the quiz format is a simple way to deliver personalised information to your residents. For example, you could create a quiz to help parents identify school holiday activities that suit their child’s age and interests.
Other highlights
- Interactive “Explore the Territory” map
- Special locations hotbox slider
- Use of patterns and overlays
Brooklyn Bridge Park, US: Today at the park
Though some elements are a bit dated, the website for New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge Park still has a lot to offer.
One of our favourite features is the “Today at the Park” module in the sidebar menu. This custom module displays key information for the day, like weather, sunrise and sunset times, and opening times for park amenities, like the education centre. It’s a quick and easy way to work out whether it’s the right day and time for you to visit the park.
For Local Governments, you could create a similar custom module that includes facility opening times, live pool lane availabilities, road closures and any community alerts.
Other highlights
- Hero banner video
- Simple sidebar menu
Queenstown, NZ: Regional map
Interactive maps are an effective way to promote awareness of key community facilities. They’re also an opportunity to attract new residents by clearly highlighting what your City has to offer.
Queenstown’s tourism site features one such map on its home page. Users can click on key towns in the regions surrounding Queenstown and read a brief summary of what each one is best known for. The summaries also feature a CTA button that takes users to a more detailed information page for each location.
This custom module can easily be adapted to a Local Government context. For example, you could create an interactive map that displays the locations of key community facilities, like libraries and rec centres.
Other highlights
- “Favourite” function for local activities and attractions
- Social media feed
- Seasonal information hotboxes
Visit Seattle, US: Social media feed
Featuring a social media feed on your website is a great way to showcase community-generated content and increase engagement online.
Visit Seattle takes this a step further by featuring user-generated Instagram content in a grid format that displays images in both portrait and landscape, creating an eye-catching mosaic effect. Each post also has a CTA button that links to a relevant blog post or site page. The result is that each featured post also acts as a hotbox. In this case, the module was created using a tool called CrowdRiff, but there are other plugins available that can achieve a similar effect.
For Local Governments, you could use a social grid to highlight specific initiatives, events and locations in your community. It’s also a fun way to engage and involve your residents by sharing their content. Consider creating a community hashtag that users can tag in posts that they want the City to consider sharing in their feed.
Other highlights
- Hotbox hover effects
- Hero banner video
Make your website pop with custom modules
If any of these ideas grabbed your attention, or if you’ve got your own idea that you’re not sure how to implement, we’re here to help.
Get in contact with our team today or sign up for our Local Government newsletter to receive more content ideas direct to your inbox!