How Robintek Helped Modernize SWACO’s Digital Experience for Residents, Businesses, and Community Partners
For public agencies and local government organizations, a website is more than a digital brochure. It serves as a hub for community engagement, public education, program participation, and access to essential services. When the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) needed a modernized website that better reflected their mission and improved the user experience for residents and businesses, they partnered with Robintek to bring that vision to life.
See the redesigned SWACO website at SWACO.org
As one of Ohio’s 52 solid waste districts, SWACO plays a critical role in helping Franklin County residents and organizations reduce landfill reliance through recycling programs, education, outreach initiatives, and community partnerships. Their website needed to support those efforts with a platform that was easier to manage, more intuitive to navigate, and aligned with their evolving brand identity.
The Challenge: An Outdated Website with Growing Needs
SWACO’s existing website no longer aligned with the organization’s branding, goals, or the needs of its users. Navigation had become difficult for visitors, internal management and updates were cumbersome, and the overall design lacked the modern, community-focused feel SWACO wanted to communicate.
The SWACO team also needed their website to better support their growing programs and partnerships, particularly initiatives like:
- Business Recycling Champions
- Food Waste Champions
- Community outreach and educational resources
- Procurement and vendor engagement
In addition, SWACO wanted to improve how residents and businesses accessed information, ensuring users could quickly find the services, forms, resources, and program details most relevant to them.
A Modern WordPress Website Built for Flexibility and Growth
Robintek redesigned and rebuilt the SWACO website in WordPress, providing the organization with a much more flexible and user-friendly content management system. The new platform allows the SWACO team to easily manage updates, add content, maintain program pages, and continue expanding the site over time.
The redesign focused heavily on improving usability while creating a brighter, more engaging visual experience that reflects SWACO’s mission and branding.
Key goals for the redesign included:
- Improving navigation and site organization
- Creating a more modern and engaging design
- Supporting both residential and commercial audiences
- Making information easier to access
- Preserving accessibility and multilingual functionality
- Supporting future growth and program expansion
A Community-Focused Design That Reflects the SWACO Brand
The new SWACO website embraces the organization’s vibrant branding with a bright, energetic color palette and geometric triangle patterns integrated throughout the design. Large imagery and video elements help showcase SWACO’s work within the community while creating a more engaging experience for visitors.
The homepage was strategically designed to guide users toward the information they need most quickly and efficiently.
Design highlights include:
- A looping video banner that creates an engaging first impression
- Streamlined navigation with a simplified menu structure
- Quick-access navigation icons for commonly used sections
- Dedicated pathways for residential and commercial users
- Interactive news and spotlight sections
- A “How Can We Help You?” quick-navigation tool
- Fully responsive layouts optimized for mobile, tablet, and desktop devices
The updated design also better supports SWACO’s educational mission by making programs, initiatives, and resources easier to discover and explore.
Improved Navigation and User Experience
One of the largest improvements in the redesign was the restructuring of the website’s sitemap and navigation.
Robintek worked closely with SWACO to reorganize content around how users actually search for waste and recycling information. Rather than relying on outdated content groupings, the new structure emphasizes clear Residential and Commercial pathways, helping users find:
- Recycling information
- Drop-off locations
- Program details
- Educational resources
- Forms and contact information
- Procurement opportunities
This user-focused navigation strategy improves usability for both residents and business partners while creating a stronger foundation for future content growth and planned microsites.
Accessibility and Multilingual Support
Accessibility was a major priority throughout the redesign process. Robintek ensured SWACO’s existing accessibility and engagement tools were preserved and fully integrated into the new WordPress website.
Integrated tools include:
- AccessiBe for ADA accessibility support
- Google Translate for multilingual accessibility
- A live chat for real-time assistance and engagement
By carrying these tools into the redesigned website, SWACO can continue supporting users with accessibility needs, non-English speakers, and community members looking for immediate assistance.
If you’re interested in how Robintek can help you with integrated accessibility tools contact us today to schedule a consultation
Supporting Business Partnerships and Community Programs
A major component of the project involved improving how SWACO supports and promotes its business-focused initiatives.
Robintek created updated sections dedicated to programs like:
- Business Recycling Champions
- Food Waste Champions
These new business pages include searchable business directories and improved program visibility, helping SWACO better support participating organizations while also strengthening outreach and marketing efforts tied to these initiatives.
SEO and Content Migration Support
In addition to the redesign and development work, Robintek also handled:
- Content migration
- SEO migration and optimization
- Platform transition support
This helped ensure SWACO maintained search visibility and content continuity throughout the redesign process while positioning the new website for stronger long-term SEO performance.
The Result: A Website Built for Community Engagement and Long-Term Growth
The final result is a modern, accessible, and community-focused website that better serves SWACO’s residents, businesses, and partners while giving the internal team a far easier platform to manage and grow.
The SWACO team has been extremely pleased with the redesign, especially the improved usability, updated visual identity, and enhanced business program sections. The new website provides a strong foundation for future growth while helping SWACO continue its mission of reducing landfill reliance and supporting recycling initiatives across Central Ohio.
Robintek is proud to continue partnering with organizations like SWACO to create impactful digital experiences for public agencies and local government organizations.
Looking for a Public Sector Website Partner?
At Robintek, we specialize in creating custom websites for local governments, municipalities, and public agencies that need modern, accessible, and easy-to-manage digital platforms.
Our in-house team provides:
- Website design and development
- WordPress development
- Accessibility-focused solutions
- SEO and content strategy
- Branding and graphic design
- Ongoing website support and maintenance
Whether your organization needs a full website redesign or improvements to your current platform, we can help you create a digital experience that better serves your community.
