Palmerston North City Council

Website

pncc.govt.nz

Judges’ comments

The Palmerston North City Council website stands out for its user-focused design and welcoming approach. The site uses clear navigation with breadcrumbs, hub pages, and a logical structure that helps residents find information quickly.

The layout is uncluttered with good use of white space. An attractive colour palette and quality images create a professional and inviting first impression.

The writing is clear and accessible. Sentences are mostly short and active. Paragraphs focus on one topic and start with important information. The site confidently uses headings to answer common questions immediately, without burying information in FAQs. Instructions and procedures are generally clear and well-labelled. The warm, friendly tone uses ‘we’ and ‘you’ to connect directly with readers, making the council feel approachable.

The site delivers practical value to residents. It helps people accomplish tasks efficiently, from paying parking tickets to requesting recycling bins. Web design components like accordions group information clearly, reducing scrolling and helping readers scan for relevant material.

The team takes a continuous improvement approach, regularly consulting with residents, iwi, and the council’s disability reference group to keep the site relevant and accessible.

Media statement

We’re stoked to be a finalist for this award.

The Palmerston North City Council website is a 24/7 customer service tool. It’s where people come to give us feedback, check their rates or when to put their bins out, log service requests, find out about projects the council is working on, or get inspo for a weekend walk or a cool new playground to visit. Plus a thousand and one other things.

So the information we provide needs to be clear, accessible, and useful. We want people to be able to act on it quickly and confidently.

Our team works hard to make that happen. We listen to our community, learn from data, and keep improving.

We can see the impact. We have close to a million website visitors a year — and growing. Every year we see more people doing more things online.

It’s not perfect (and never will be). But being recognised as a finalist tells us we’re on the right track. And we’re so proud of that.

Lisa Wilde
Digital Channels Specialist
Palmerston North City Council