Vallei en Veluwe Water Board
The challenge
Vallei en Veluwe Water Board needed a new digital platform to help residents, businesses and the organisations it works with access services, find information and understand what to do next. The brief went beyond a new website. Online services, content, campaigns, subsites and editorial workflows needed to come together in one environment that was easy for visitors to use and straightforward for the organisation to manage. The editorial team also needed to work independently, with clear standards for content quality and accessibility. Information had to stay up to date, and visitors needed to find their way without first understanding how the water board was organised.
The solution
Following a successful tender process, we built an open source digital platform using Wagtail CMS. We started with the needs and questions of residents, businesses and other organisations. These shaped the navigation, access to common tasks and flexible page layouts, bringing services and content together around what visitors need. Editors can create pages, manage content and publish information for specific audiences independently. The platform supports multiple websites within a single CMS, including a careers site integrated with Ubeeo. Integrations with Azure, Samenwerkende Catalogi and other systems connect the platform to the water board’s wider digital environment.
Digital services built around people’s needs
Whether they need to apply for a permit, report a problem or find the latest information, visitors come to the website with a clear purpose. The platform helps residents, businesses and other organisations find what they need through clear navigation and quick access to common tasks. They can get on with what they came to do without having to understand how the water board is organised.
Putting editors in control
The website needs to work just as well for the people managing it as for those using it. Content owners and editors work together in a structured workflow, with review requests, reports and clear publishing steps. This helps keep information accurate, up to date and properly reviewed.
Automatic alerts flag expired content, and each document has a named owner. Flexible page layouts built with StreamField, reusable components and content snippets allow editors to create and update pages independently. They have the freedom to manage content while keeping the website consistent and easy to maintain.
A platform built to evolve
The platform gives the water board a clear technical foundation and a consistent way of managing content. As its needs change, it can add campaigns, subsites, integrations and improvements to its online services.
The aim remains the same: make it easy for visitors to find information, understand what to do and take action. Behind the scenes, the water board retains control over its content and can continue to develop the platform while keeping its communications clear and accessible.
Find information. Understand it. Take action.
Clear navigation, forms and quick access to common tasks help visitors do what they came to do. Synonyms and promoted search results help them find the right information, even when they use different words from those on the website.
Accessibility built in
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) inform the design, content and technical implementation. Components, navigation, forms and content structures are designed to help people access, understand and use information.
One platform, multiple sites
Shared header and footer settings keep the websites consistent. Integrations with Azure, Samenwerkende Catalogi and Ubeeo connect the platform to other systems, helping the water board manage its websites and services as a coherent whole.
