NZSBA’s School Board Elections Site
Fast Turnaround with Lasting Impact: NZSBA’s New School Board Elections Site
Somar Digital is proud to have delivered the newly redesigned School Board Elections website for Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa – New Zealand School Boards Association (NZSBA)(external link). This refreshed platform plays a vital role in supporting school board election processes across Aotearoa, providing accessible, clear, and up-to-date information for anyone involved with becoming a school board member.
Built using the Somar Digital Accelerator, our website starter kit designed for rapid delivery without sacrificing quality, the new site delivers a secure, user-friendly experience that helps drive engagement and participation in local school governance.
A Dedicated Platform for School Board Elections
This School Board Elections site is a standalone website, separate from the main NZSBA website. Its purpose is to serve as a central hub for all things related to school board elections. The platform provides information for those considering board membership, guidance on running elections, and access to essential documents and resources.
It was designed with clarity and usability front of mind, ensuring schools and communities across Aotearoa can easily access and act on important information during each election cycle.
Powered by the Somar Digital Accelerator
The project made full use of the Somar Digital Accelerator. This solution includes a library of reusable Silverstripe components, including headers, menus, footers and flexible content blocks. These features streamline development and reduce costs, while also ensuring consistency and code quality.
The pre-built components were customised with NZSBA’s brand identity, resulting in a polished, professional design that feels familiar to the organisation’s audience.
Content Management and Form Integration
The website is powered by Silverstripe CMS, giving the NZSBA team a flexible and scalable platform for managing their content. Built-in Silverstripe search functionality helps users quickly find relevant pages and resources.
Salesforce forms were seamlessly embedded into the site. Logged-in users can complete these forms directly within the platform, making the process smooth and secure.
Content from the previous site was migrated and reviewed, with updates applied to align with the new styling and layout provided by Somar Digital Accelerator.
Key Features
- Become a Board Member: Clear guidance on how to become a school board member for both students and staff. It helps individuals understand how they can get involved and contribute to their school community through governance.
- Run an Election: Practical information for schools and Returning Officers’ on how to run an election. Includes an election planning tool, a section to register your election, and access to election notices that are used during the election process.
- Resources: A central library of downloadable files and templates to assist returning officers and school boards with running school board elections.
Outcomes
Speed to Market, Without Compromising Quality
The website was designed and built in just two weeks, following a brief design sprint. Using the Somar Digital Accelerator allowed us to move quickly while delivering a polished and fully functional platform.
Accessible and Responsive
The platform meets WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines. It was designed to work across all modern devices and browsers, ensuring inclusive access for all users.
New and Improved Design
The homepage and overall website layout was reimagined to better highlight key content and calls to action. The result is a cleaner, clearer interface that supports the user journey.