Local Government Procurement

Streamlining Government Digital Services: Enhancing Local Government Procurement’s Website Performance and Security

Executive summary

Local Government Procurement (lgp.org.au), a government-linked website, faced significant challenges due to an overloaded plugin ecosystem and performance issues. Over recent years, TBSD Digital took over the hosting, maintenance, and management of the site, implementing critical upgrades and security enhancements. These efforts led to a cleaner, faster, and more secure website, aligning with the client’s strategic priorities and ensuring reliable service delivery.

Industries

Government • Public Sector

Size

Medium Government Entity

location

Australia (National Presence)

Provided Services

Strategy

Web Development

Application Development

Website Analytics

key information

Local Government Procurement (lgp.org.au) is a key platform facilitating procurement processes for local government entities across Australia. The website serves as a central hub for managing procurement activities, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and compliance with governmental standards.

challenges/objectives

Overloaded Plugin Ecosystem: The original website utilised approximately 43 plugins, leading to performance bottlenecks, bugs, and conflicts.
Performance Issues: Frequent bugs and slow load times hindered user experience and operational efficiency.
Security Concerns: As a government-linked entity, ensuring robust security to prevent data breaches and comply with governmental regulations was critical.
Content Management Complexity: Managing and updating content was cumbersome due to the high number of plugins and lack of streamlined processes.
Strategic Security Enhancements: Aligning the website’s security measures with the client’s strategic priority to enhance security over the next 2-3 years.
Operational Efficiency: Reducing dependency on third-party plugins and improving the website’s reliability and maintainability.

Solution/strategy

TBST Digital implemented a comprehensive strategy to overhaul and manage the Local Government Procurement website, focusing on performance optimization, security enhancement, and streamlined content management. The key components of our approach included:

Website Cleanup and Optimization: Reduced the number of plugins from 43 to 25, eliminating unnecessary and conflicting add-ons to enhance site performance and stability.
Hosting Environment Upgrade: Upgraded the hosting infrastructure to a more robust and scalable environment, resulting in increased website speed and reliability.
Database Clean-Up: Executed a thorough database cleanup, removing over 2 million records of unused data to improve database performance and reduce potential security vulnerabilities.
Security Enhancements: Conducted a comprehensive security review, implemented two-factor authentication, encrypted sensitive data, and established proper disaster recovery processes.
Content Management Improvements: Developed tools and processes that allowed the client to manage and update content independently, reducing reliance on third-party services and accelerating time to market.
Collaboration with IT and Security Teams: Worked closely with the client’s new Head of IT and Security to ensure the website met all security requirements without impeding marketing and operational needs.
Support for Strategic Objectives: Continued to support the client’s strategic goals by providing ongoing updates, performance monitoring, and security improvements.

implementation

Initial Assessment and Cleanup: Identified and removed redundant plugins, streamlined the codebase, and resolved existing bugs and conflicts to stabilise the website.
Hosting Upgrade: Migrated the website to a new, high-performance hosting environment, significantly improving load times and overall site responsiveness.
Database Optimization: Cleaned up the database by deleting over 2 million unused records, enhancing performance and reducing the risk of data-related issues.
Security Overhaul: Implemented two-factor authentication, encrypted databases, and established disaster recovery protocols. Conducted user access audits to ensure only authorised personnel had access.
Content Management Tools: Developed user-friendly tools that empowered the client to create and manage content without technical assistance, facilitating quicker updates and content deployment.
Ongoing Maintenance and Support: Established a maintenance schedule for regular updates, backups, and security checks to ensure the website remains secure and performant.
Collaboration with Partners: Worked with LGP’s marketing agency ensuring seamless integration and support across all technical services.

results

Enhanced Performance: Upgraded hosting and optimised the website reduced load times and eliminated performance bottlenecks, resulting in a smoother user experience.
Improved Security: Strengthened security measures, including two-factor authentication and data encryption, safeguarded sensitive information and complied with governmental security standards.
Streamlined Content Management: Reduced the number of plugins by 50 % and implemented efficient content management tools enabled the client to manage and update the website independently, accelerating content deployment and reducing operational costs.
Operational Efficiency: Cleaned and optimised the database improved website stability and reduced the occurrence of bugs and conflicts, ensuring reliable service delivery.
Client Satisfaction: The client expressed high satisfaction with the improvements, noting enhanced website performance, security, and the ability to support their strategic objectives effectively.
Ongoing Support: Continued collaboration ensures that the website evolves with the client’s needs, supporting their strategic goals and maintaining high standards of performance and security.

conClusion

Through a strategic partnership and targeted interventions, TBST Digital successfully transformed the Local Government Procurement website into a robust, secure, and efficient platform. By addressing performance issues, enhancing security, and streamlining content management, we enabled the client to achieve their strategic objectives and ensure reliable service delivery. Our ongoing support continues to drive the website’s evolution, aligning with the client’s growth and security priorities.

What the client said

TBST Digital transformed our website from a problematic platform into a streamlined, secure, and high-performing tool that supports our procurement processes efficiently. Their expertise in optimising our digital infrastructure has been invaluable to our operations.

Jane Doe, IT Manager at Local Government Procurement

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