Judicial Web Modernization

The Challenge

Vermont Judiciary’s original website had been established before digital channels became a primary means of accessing court information — and it showed. The site was difficult to navigate and counterintuitive for the diverse audiences depending on it: judges, attorneys, mediators, self-represented litigants, and jurors each arriving with different needs and different levels of familiarity with court processes. Dated underlying technology had made it difficult for staff to implement meaningful updates, and the Judiciary recognized in 2016 that rebuilding the site entirely was the only viable path forward.

Our Approach

GovWebworks brought extensive state agency redevelopment experience to the engagement and selected Drupal 8 for its user-friendliness and strong interoperability with modernized court infrastructure. The team conducted comprehensive constituent research — reaching across the Judiciary’s varied user groups — to inform both the visual design and the information architecture. That research shaped a content strategy designed to serve each audience without requiring users to understand internal court terminology to find what they needed.

The Result

The new Vermont Judiciary portal launched in March 2017, significantly improving accessibility and usability for all court audiences. Key capabilities include full mobile responsiveness, 508 and WCAG AA compliance, multi-lingual support for Vermont’s diverse population, advanced search functionality, and a multi-tier permission structure enabling distributed content administration across the Judiciary’s divisions. The platform gave court staff the governance tools to keep information current — and gave Vermonters a site that actually works for them.