Project lead: Local authorities

How collaboration worked: During the development of the website the web team worked closely with the Age Friendly team to identify the key areas of content that could support the target audience and their families and/or carers.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: Older people and partners were consulted in advance of the website development, and again following the launch of the first iteration to gain constructive feedback. This was via Cardiff’s Age-Friendly Forum.

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Feedback:
As part of the Age-Friendly Cardiff Forum’s quarterly meeting in November 2023, Cardiff Council’s Web Team were facilitated to carry out a website user testing session on the Age-Friendly Cardiff website (as well as the Telecare/Meals on Wheels and Dementia Friendly Cardiff websites). The session took place at Cardiff Central Library Hub and was attended by a range of older people and partner organisations. The aim of this activity was for the Web Team to liaise with the attendees to compile a list of issues, suggestions, and feedback relating to content, design, and user experience. In relation to the Age-Friendly Cardiff website, a variety of scenarios were given to participants to consider, e.g: – Your relative is getting older and you are worried about their health. Can you find out what health checks are available? – You have an older neighbour who cannot keep up with the maintenance of their garden. What help is available and how do you get the help? – Your older relative is keen to get out and about in the community. Can you find information about this? – You have started taking care of your older relative but you are struggling to manage. What can you do? – You are about to retire and are worried about your finances. What support is available? – You have heard that Cardiff is an Age Friendly City but you don’t know what that is. Can you find out what it means to be an Age Friendly City? Attendees were also asked: – What did you find the most useful part of the website? – What did you find the least useful part of the website? There were some positive responses to the Age Friendly Cardiff website, with comments including that the language is “user-friendly” and the “look of the website is bright and inviting”, as well as some constructive suggestions for improvements. For example, suggestions included the hamburger menu (when viewing via mobile) being made clearer, adding additional content themes and putting a search bar at the top of the site. Of all the comments: · 8 were negative · 5 were positive · 13 are suggested enhancements Breakdown by category: · 15 Content · 7 Design · 4 User Experience Following the session, the Web Team reviewed the feedback and have put together a list of actions for improvement, including the following: – Exploring options for a search function – Creating more content for unpaid carers – Including intros at the top of each page – Creating accessibility options on the Age-Friendly Cardiff website like Dementia Friendly Cardiff website Members of the Cardiff’s Age-Friendly Forum will be kept up-to-date with amendments made.

Expansion plans:
Going forward the website will continue to be reviewed and updated, with additional content added as necessary.

Challenges:
Recruitment of older people and partners for the initial consultation and website user testing session was a challenge. We addressed this by promoting the consultation widely via our networks and Hubs/libraries. We used Cardiff’s Age-Friendly Forum for the website user testing session.