Moving Dumfries and Galloway Council onto LocalGov Drupal

The challenge

Before the project began, Dumfries and Galloway Council's website had become difficult to manage and difficult to use. People didn't always find a clear answer first time. Journeys were inconsistent, and residents often ended up phoning or emailing the council to complete a task that should have been possible online.

For the council's own team, updating the site could take longer than it should. The existing system made it hard to keep content consistent or improve services at scale. The council knew what it wanted: a clearer structure, better content, and simpler online journeys, so that people could come to the website with a question, find the answer, and complete the task without picking up the phone.

Starting with a pilot

Rather than attempt the whole site at once, the council started with a single section: bins and recycling. It was a deliberate choice. Bins and recycling is one of the most-used parts of the website, it includes clear information needs alongside online transactions, and a successful pilot there would show what was possible for everywhere else.

It also gave the council a chance to test the working relationship with Rohallion and the other specialist suppliers involved, and to see how LocalGov Drupal would support services in practice before committing to a wider rollout.

Within two months of a new bulky uplift booking system going live in November 2023, 60% of customers were booking online rather than by phone. It was early evidence that the approach was working, and it reinforced the value of focusing on the services people use most.

Scaling up, section by section

With the pilot proven, the council moved through the rest of the website in phases, switching on each section as it was ready. This meant benefits started landing early, but it also meant council colleagues were managing project work alongside day-to-day service demands throughout.

The phased approach let the team learn as they went, and helped individual services see the value of the new website before the full migration was complete.

Some sections proved more complex than others, particularly where online services needed to connect with existing council systems or reflect detailed service processes. Working through those challenges meant bringing together service knowledge, digital skills and technical support from Rohallion, and in some cases meant looking again at the underlying process itself rather than simply moving an offline form onto the web. That was an important part of the project: it helped make services clearer, not just move content from one system to another.

A long-term partnership

Rohallion worked with the council from the initial pilot through to the wider migration and the ongoing development work that continues today. This continuity mattered. Rohallion understood the platform, the council's services, and how the team worked, there was no need to start again at each stage. Instead, the two teams built on what had worked before, solved problems together, and kept improving the website over time.

The relationship went beyond delivery, too. Working closely with Rohallion throughout the project helped the council's own team build confidence with LocalGov Drupal, apply common content patterns, and think more clearly about what people need from each service. The council's team is now in a stronger position to manage content, make improvements and support future development independently.

The outcome

The website today is clearer, more consistent, and easier to navigate. People are better guided through services and can complete more tasks online, with journeys that feel more consistent across different service areas thanks to the platform's common patterns.

For the council's content team, day-to-day management is easier too. LocalGov Drupal gives them a clearer structure to work within, helping them keep content consistent and continue improving the site over time.

60% of bulky uplift bookings moved online within two months of launch.

A phased approach, strong collaboration, and building ownership inside the council all made a real difference. It's a lesson the council would pass on to any authority considering a similar move.