Cornwall, ON — The City of Cornwall has announced plans to redesign its official website, with a scheduled launch in June 2026. The project aims to deliver a more modern, accessible online platform — but whether the current site actually warrants a full redesign is a question worth asking.
Municipal websites are, by nature, a challenging product. They serve an enormous range of users — seniors looking up recreation programs, contractors checking permit requirements, newcomers navigating city services in a second language — and they tend to age poorly. Navigation structures built a decade ago rarely reflect how people search for information today. Accessibility standards have evolved. Mobile usage has overtaken desktop. On those grounds, a periodic refresh is a reasonable investment of public resources, provided the new design is built around user needs rather than internal preferences.
That is precisely what is being tested here. Rather than redesigning in isolation and launching to mixed reviews, the City is gathering structured community feedback before development is finalized. The survey uses a method called tree testing — a technique that evaluates how intuitively users can find information within a proposed site structure, without the distraction of visual design. It is a legitimate, evidence-based approach to navigation planning, and it is most useful when the respondent pool reflects the actual diversity of the site’s users.
“We want our website to reflect the needs and preferences of the people we serve,” said Katherine Wells, Director of Communications, Government Relations and Strategic Planning. “This is an important opportunity for residents to help us build an online space that is easy to use and inviting for everyone.”
The survey is short, available in both English and French, and open until March 1, 2026. The results will inform the site’s information architecture before build-out begins — meaning feedback submitted now has a direct path to influencing the final product.
Take the survey before March 1, 2026:
🇬🇧 English: https://wlyi65ir.optimalworkshop.com/treejack/cityofcornwall
🇫🇷 French: https://wlyi65ir.optimalworkshop.com/treejack/d95e9f6346115229d6d0c742258804a5
Residents who use the current city website — whether regularly or only when they have to — are best positioned to identify where it falls short. The City’s stated commitment is to let that input shape the outcome. Whether it does will be evident when the new site launches in June 2026.
Feedback is accepted in both official languages. The survey closes March 1, 2026.
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