Say Hello!
to the New bendoregon.gov

We improved how you can find information and get things done online.

A mock-up of how the new website homepage looks on a laptop and phone.

Our website is one of the main ways people connect with City services. It receives about 1.6 million visits each year, and many residents and visitors rely on it for essential tasks. But we also heard that parts of the site were frustrating or hard to use—so we made major improvements.

This update was about making bendoregon.gov easier to navigate, simpler to understand, and more accessible for everyone.

What we heard from the community

Before we made changes, we took a close look at how people actually used the website. With help from a research partner, we gathered input from community members and staff and reviewed website data and feedback to understand what was working—and what wasn’t.

A few themes came through clearly:

  • Permits were confusing and hard to find.
  • Many people had questions about parking and wanted clearer, more centralized information.
  • Paying water bills online was difficult for some users.
  • The site’s search tool needed improvement.
  • Overall, navigation felt complicated, and people had trouble finding what they needed.

We made earlier updates to help with permitting, parking, and water bill payment, but bigger improvements—especially around sitewide search and navigation—required a more modern website platform.

Pietree navigation data visualization illustrating that community members struggled to find information on parking enforcement and where to park in Bend.

What’s changed (and why it matters)

We rebuilt bendoregon.gov with a focus on clarity, accessibility, and getting you to the right place faster.

  • Clearer, more accessible content

    We reviewed and improved pages across the site to make information easier to read and understand. That work included:

    • Removing pages that were outdated or repetitive
    • Combining information where it made sense
    • Adding new pages where important context was missing
    • Writing in plain language at about an 8th-grade reading level, which helps more people quickly understand information and improves the experience for screen readers and translation tools.
    • Reducing jargon, spelling out acronyms, and breaking up long blocks of text

     

    We also worked to ensure the site meets or exceeds WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.

  • A website structure that matches how people think

    We reorganized the site so you don’t have to know which department handles something in order to find a service. Instead, we structured information around what you’re trying to do, not how City government is organized.

    Screenshot illustrating work in progress as we designed the navigation structure for the site.

    That change created clearer pathways for common needs—like applying for permits, paying bills, reporting concerns, or learning about projects—so fewer clicks and less guesswork were required.

  • A cleaner, more modern design

    We updated the look and feel of our site to support readability and make it easier to scan pages quickly. Those improvements included:

    More open space and improved layout so content is easier to read.

    More space between elements.

    A more vibrant visual style, stronger photography, and clearer graphic elements to help guide attention and break up text.

    Stronger visual elements.

    Design details that connect back to the City’s visual identity, including a subtle circle motif used throughout the site.

    Screenshot showing the circle motif present throughout the site.

  • A much better menu and navigation experience

    One of the biggest updates was the new navigation, which was designed to help you move through the site more easily without getting lost.

    • Services is the top menu item, reflecting what many visitors come to the website to do.
    • The hamburger menu collapses when you aren’t using it, reducing clutter so you can focus on the page content you came for instead of unrelated menu items.
    • The primary menu lets you drill down further than our old site, so you can get directly to important services and information right from the menu.
    • Short descriptions in the menu add context so it’s easier to choose the right section.

    Comparing the menu on our old site to the new one showing how much more streamlined it is now.

  • More timely updates on the homepage

    We added a new homepage feature to highlight what’s most relevant at the moment—such as major construction, wildfire preparedness, or other time-sensitive updates.

    Screenshot of the "Now and Noteworthy" section on the homepage.

     

  • Quick access to top services

    We added more ways to quickly reach the services and information you use most. Quick Links in the top menu help you jump to popular pages from anywhere on the site, and the Services section on the homepage provides faster access to common tasks. And at the bottom of every page, we included a helpful set of links and contact information so you can always find key resources without having to search.

    Screenshot of our top services.

Help us continue to improve our site

To keep this website focused on real community needs, we want to hear from you. Tell us what’s working well, what’s confusing, and what could be improved.

We review feedback regularly and use it to spot patterns and prioritize future updates. While we can’t make every change right away, your input helps guide what we tackle next.

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