In November 2016, we launched our new website. We wanted to make sure owners were able to get the information they needed in the most accessible way possible. Initial research showed that many of our website users were struggling to find the information they needed to be effective owners and trustees. The result was that ‘contact us’ became one of the most sought-after parts of our old website.

With fragmentation of ownership, disengaged owners and many of our audience living in different time zones, helping people to access relevant, easy to understand information on our website became a top priority.

Increasingly, digital communication channels are the most important way for owners to understand the duties and responsibilities of trustees and land owners. In the past 12 months, our site has been visited by residents living in over 150 countries.

The result of our website redesign is a modern website that’s easy to navigate and totally responsive – so visitors can get the most out of their experience, regardless of the size of the screen they’re using.

The number of individuals using a mobile phone or tablet to access our site is steadily growing. In 2015, around 35 percent of site visits were made with a mobile phone or tablet. Now, this number has ballooned to over 50 percent of visits coming from someone using a device.

In 2016, we adopted a plain language standard across the organisation. We took the website redesign as an opportunity to completely overhaul how we communicate. Our website uses everyday language that people can relate to. This means our users are spending more time on our website and viewing more pages. They’re also getting a better understanding of how we’re working for them and what they can do to get more involved.

Since we launched the new website, the number of phone enquiries we’re receiving has dropped by a massive 8 percent. That’s a potential reduction of over 700 calls a year.

Our website visitors come from all over the world, but it’s the users in rural New Zealand who can face some of the biggest access challenges. We built our website to have shorter loading times. Now, owners trying to access the site from remote locations can get the information they need and not worry about lag.

Since our new website launched, we’ve seen major growth in the number of people accessing the site; compared with the same period in the previous year, the amount of site users has increased by 24 percent. More owners are now accessing our site, which in turn means more owners are better connected with, and more informed about, their whenua.