OZHZ, short for Omgevingsdienst Zuid-Holland Zuid (Regional Service South Holland South), is a regional government service committed to a better living environment for residents and organisations in the region. More than 200 specialists help the almost 500,000 inhabitants and more then 10,000 companies within this region with questions and complaints. To satisfy this demand a well-organised online platform has been developed.

The main challenge was integrating the diverse services and the many different specialists, including licensing authorities, inspectors and advisors. On the new platform this information about various services, with various themes, needed to come together clearly and be easily understandable.

Usability tests with impact.
During the realization, various usability tests were carried out on residents and companies. The results were very positive. The feedback was processed and the user-friendliness immediately improved.

As an example, the design was made "cleaner" and more readable after feedback from people with dyslexia. Arrows were added at the bottom of the page to clarify the scrolling option. The layout of the themes and news items has been adjusted according to various needs. And some important buttons, such as the read-, translate- and enlarge buttons, are more prominently displayed.

Improvement.
It is immediately clear that the OZHZ website is different from other environment service platforms. The design is fresh, open and very easy to navigate. Each theme has the same structure with clear buttons and titles. The search function is easy to find and suggestions are made to help with the search. When you open the menu the entire screen is filled, allowing for calm and easy navigation.

Due to its logical layout, navigating the site is a simple and user-friendly process, especially for a regional service with so many topics and so much information available.

On the homepage there are 3 large buttons directing you immediately to the correct service. Visitors can find the right information per theme about their living environment in a few clicks. It is easy to report inconvenience, view reports and request information.

The platform has been developed based on the "Redkiwi Framework". Technology and speed score particularly well in the SEO field.

The rules that we have applied are:

- Content first. No fuss
- Clarity by consistently using the same structure
- Keeping the website clear and limiting the amount of information per page

Impact on the organization.
The renewed platform was immediately very positively received by both visitors and employees of OZHZ. The threshold for calling an environmental service is always quite high, but the new platform makes these services easily accessible. Requests and complaints are now submitted primarily through online forms. Because the frequency of reports and questions has increased, it is possible to monitor where problems occur. OZHZ can efficiently employ inspectors based on this input to continuously monitor the problem.

General visitors' questions are captured earlier than before by the clear site structure. The extensive information about, for example, permits and changes in the law ensure that applications are received more fully and efficiently. Especially for companies it is important that information about legislation is current.

The goal was not to generate more visitors, but to improve user-friendliness. We succeeded, according to Lydia Slob, Communication advisor at OZHZ. The content has been sharpened with regards to readability; the information is less technical and understandable for all visitors.

Employees of OZHZ often refer entrepreneurs and residents to the information from the environment map and the file pages. OZHZ said about the result: “The government must be transparent. With the site we have become more accessible and online it really does justice to the organization that we are. With Redkiwi we are constantly working on the further development and optimization of online services.”