Launching a public service website: a campaign checklist

A new public service website is only useful if the people it is meant for find it and use it. That rarely happens by itself. A launch needs a campaign: a planned effort to reach the right people, through the right channels, with messages they understand.

This checklist sets out how we approach public service website launches as a delivery team. It works for employment support services, health and wellbeing programmes, skills offers, local information hubs and similar services.

1. Start with audience insight

Before any creative work or spend, be clear about who the service is for.

Who are the primary audiences? For example, people out of work, carers, young people leaving education or small business owners.
Where are they? Which local authority areas, neighbourhoods or communities?
What do they already use? Which websites, social platforms, community spaces and services do they trust?
What gets in the way? Low awareness, mistrust, language, digital access, disability or stigma.
What do they call the problem? The words people search for are often different from the service's official name.

Use existing research where it exists, talk to frontline staff and partners, and test early ideas with a small number of people from the target audience.

2. Set objectives and measures before spending

Agree what success looks like before the campaign starts. Without this, evaluation becomes a search for good-looking numbers after the event.

Define a small number of objectives, such as registrations, referrals, enquiries or completed eligibility checks.
Decide how each will be measured and where the data will come from.
Separate awareness measures, such as reach and impressions, from outcome measures, such as sign-ups.
Record a baseline where one exists.
Agree who will review results and how often.

3. Get the SEO foundations right

Many people will find the service through search, both during the campaign and long after it ends. Build the foundations into the website before launch.

Page titles and descriptions written in the language people actually search for.
A clear page for each main audience or need, rather than one page trying to do everything.
Fast, mobile-friendly pages.
Structured, logical headings and descriptive link text.
Location information where the service is area-based.
Links from partner and council websites, which also help people find the service directly.

4. Paid search and social, targeted by area

Paid channels can reach people quickly, but public money needs to be spent carefully.

Target by geography so ads only reach people in the areas the service covers.
Use paid search for people already looking for help, with ads matched to specific needs.
Use paid social to reach people who are not yet searching, with messages built around their situation.
Follow platform rules for ads relating to employment, housing, credit and social issues, which can restrict certain targeting options.
Start small, then scale what works.

Each ad should lead to a landing page that matches its message, not to a generic home page.

5. Build partner toolkits

Some of the most effective promotion happens through organisations people already trust. Job centres, libraries, colleges, GP surgeries, housing associations, faith groups and community organisations can all reach people that paid channels miss.

A good partner toolkit includes:

A short description of the service and who it is for.
Ready-to-use social posts, newsletter copy and email text.
Posters and leaflets in print-ready and digital formats.
Screen-friendly versions for waiting room displays.
A simple referral or signposting route.
A named contact for questions.

Make the toolkit easy to download and easy to adapt. Partners are busy, and the easier it is to use the materials, the more likely they are to share them.

6. Plain English and accessible assets

Public service campaigns must work for everyone in the target audience. That includes people with disabilities and people who find written information difficult.

Write in plain English, with short sentences and familiar words.
Make sure the website meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations, where they apply.
Provide text alternatives for images and captions or transcripts for video.
Check colour contrast and readable font sizes on all assets, including social graphics.
Offer easy read versions where the audience needs them.
Make PDFs accessible, or provide the same content as a web page.

Our guide to public sector work explains more about how we build accessibility into delivery.

7. Community languages

If the target audience includes people who are more comfortable in languages other than English, plan for that from the start.

Use local insight to decide which languages matter most.
Use qualified translators, and have translations checked by native speakers from the community where possible.
Translate the key landing pages and campaign assets, not just a leaflet.
Work with community organisations who can share translated materials through their own networks.
Make it clear how people can get help in their language.

8. Privacy-respecting analytics and consent

Measurement matters, but so does trust. People using public services should not feel tracked.

Collect only the data needed to measure the agreed objectives.
Use a consent banner that gives a genuine choice, in line with UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
Consider analytics tools that minimise personal data.
Be careful with advertising pixels on pages relating to sensitive topics such as health, debt or benefits.
Publish a clear, readable privacy notice.

Services should take their own data protection advice on their specific setup.

9. Weekly optimisation

Once the campaign is live, review it every week.

Check performance against the agreed measures, not just clicks.
Pause ads and messages that are not working and move budget to those that are.
Look at where people drop off on the website and fix the obvious problems.
Ask partners what they are hearing from the people they work with.
Keep a simple log of changes, so results can be explained later.

10. Evaluation and handover

At the end of the campaign, bring the results together and make sure the service can carry on without the campaign team.

Report against the objectives set at the start, honestly, including what did not work.
Explain which channels, messages and partners made the biggest difference.
Hand over all assets, accounts, analytics access and partner contacts.
Document how to keep the website content and SEO up to date.
Recommend what the service should keep doing, stop doing and try next.

A good handover means the service keeps its momentum after launch, rather than seeing interest fade as soon as the paid activity ends.

Talk to us

We plan and deliver launch campaigns for public service websites, from audience insight through to evaluation. Read about our public service website launch campaigns or get in touch to talk through your launch.