The Department of Planning, Housing
and Local Government

The Brief

The planning process in Ireland can feel daunting to the general public, but Matrix Internet called on nearly 20 years of astute User Experience (UX) innovation to develop a website that presents the complex data involved in the most accessible way possible.

Myplan.ie is an official Government site — an initiative of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in conjunction with Irish Local Authorities. It is a web map portal that provides all the relevant information on development zones and other factors that influence the planning decision-making process, such as census data, heritage status and patterns of housing development.

The Department needed to upgrade its digital presence with a fully responsive, modern website that offered a seamless UX — while adhering to strict national and international standards. Matrix delivered with a site that meets strict conformance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — achieving Level AA.

We migrated and enhanced essential tools from the existing site, such as the Esri ArcGIS map viewers and map gallery. And after extensive discovery workshops with Department staff, we designed a free-flowing and logical User Interface (UI), with intuitive menus for maps, documents and news and reports.

We integrated the entire structure of the website on the WordPress Content Management System (CMS), so Department staff can easily edit all website content, including maps. To further enhance the user flow, Myplan.ie is now also fully mobile-responsive.