The Challenge
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is responsible for protecting the state’s fish, wildlife, and habitats through hatchery operations, license management, and public education programs. With its website (ODFW.com) becoming outdated, the agency sought a vendor to gather and analyze stakeholder feedback to identify current expectations and future needs. The agency wanted to improve content organization, navigation, and online functionality by replacing manual processes, such as fillable forms. GovWebworks (GWW) was selected to conduct the foundational analysis to guide the redevelopment of ODFW’s website.
Our Approach
GWW began with a discovery process, collecting input from internal stakeholders (ODFW personnel and leadership) and external groups (which included members of the general public, conservation nonprofits, veterans, and BIPOC outdoor organizations). The team analyzed insights from a public survey, Google Analytics data, stakeholder focus groups, and comparisons with other state conservation websites.
Findings highlighted strong public interest in ecological topics, habitat conservation, and greater transparency about ODFW’s efforts, but the current website made such information difficult to access. Many respondents were also unclear about ODFW’s funding sources and impact, pointing to a need for clearer messaging. Google Analytics revealed high mobile traffic, low repeat visits, and a high bounce rate, indicating poor user engagement. Navigation heavily relied on links to MyODFW, a separate site held by the agency, with links opening in the same tab, which disrupted the browsing experience. Comparisons with other state agencies showed that while multiple websites were sometimes used to differentiate between content, ODFW’s current structure lacked clear distinctions between its platforms and would be more effective if the two sites were consolidated.
The Result
GWW provided ODFW with a comprehensive UX report outlining prioritized feedback themes to inform the new website’s structure and functionality. The report included documentation on site analytics with identified gaps, as well as best practices that should be applied based on ODFW’s particular challenges, with analogous and inspirational examples from across the web. GWW recommended a site redesign emphasizing accessibility, improved content organization, and a stronger connection between ODFW’s platforms. We highlighted opportunities to enhance usability and engagement, automate key processes, webforms, and transactions, and make content enhancements and other content strategy-related updates.