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Municipal Website Modernization with GIS, Permit Workflows & Resident Portal

A scalable municipal digital services platform that evolved from a website redesign into GIS integration, permit workflows, online payments, resident self-service, and multi-year support.

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Overview

Key Metrics & Impact

This case is based on a New Hampshire town of about 12,000 residents with a Select Board, Town Administrator, more than 15 boards and commissions, and around 40 employees. The key strength of the engagement was not only the initial redesign, but the multi-year expansion path: Year 1 focused on the website foundation, Year 2 introduced GIS, permitting, payments, and SSO integrations, and Year 3 added a resident dashboard, multilingual support, push notifications, and analytics for town leadership.

  • Maintained a 3-year continuous contract with 2 renewals.

  • Achieved 99.97% cumulative uptime.

  • Processed $4.2M in online payments during 2025.

  • Increased permit submissions to 87% online, up from 12% in 2023.

  • Reached 3,400 active resident accounts, or about 28% of the population.

  • Maintained Lighthouse Accessibility 100 throughout expansion, with zero regression accessibility issues.

Solutions
Challenges
Use Cases
Key Metrics & Impact
01

Problem

Before modernization, the town operated across fragmented systems: the website, permitting, payments, and calendar functions all lived in separate tools. Residents faced a confusing experience, and municipal staff duplicated data entry across systems.

The town needed more than a website refresh. It needed a digital services architecture that could start with core municipal publishing requirements and expand over time into GIS, payments, resident services, and staff authentication without forcing a full rebuild every year.

Problem
02

Challenge

The project needed to be delivered in stages for this municipal digital services platform: Year 1 to redesign the website, migrate content, meet WCAG 2.1 AA, add role-based board publishing, forms, hosting, and support; Year 2 to integrate GIS, online permitting, online payments, SSO, and stronger accessibility monitoring; and Year 3 to introduce a resident dashboard, multilingual support, PWA notifications, engagement analytics, and performance optimization.

There were also strategic constraints: the architecture had to support future modules instead of a one-time MVP; the town needed well-known municipal system integrations such as ArcGIS, ViewPoint Cloud, and Municipay; accessibility could not regress as new modules were added; and new resident-facing functionality had to coexist with board workflows, public information publishing, and staff operations.

Challenge

Solution

A Three-Year Roadmap to Modernize Municipal Digital Services

From Website Foundation to Resident-Focused Platform – Phased Growth in GIS, Permitting, Payments, and Self-Service

Product Highlights

    • WordPress municipal platform with phased growth architecture.

    • ArcGIS integration with zoning map overlays.

    • ViewPoint Cloud permit workflow integration with SSO and permit status visibility.

    • Municipay integration for online payments.

    • Resident dashboard and logged-in experience — the same account/engagement logic Plavno applies in CRM development work.

    • Multilingual support and PWA notifications.

    • Accessibility retained across all phases of expansion.

User Flows

    • Publish Core Municipal Content: In Year 1, the town launched the redesigned public website with board publishing, forms, and accessible public information.

    • Use GIS and Permit Workflows: In Year 2, residents could access zoning overlays and view permit statuses through integrated workflows.

    • Make Payments Online: The platform supported payments for taxes, permit fees, and dog licenses.

    • Access Resident Services: In Year 3, logged-in residents could view permit statuses, tax information, and personalized updates from one dashboard.

Experience & Scalability

    • Built for a town of about 12,000 residents.

    • Supports Select Board governance, 15+ boards and commissions, and approximately 40 staff members.

    • Designed as a long-term municipal platform rather than a one-time redesign.

    • Proven through a 3-year contract and two renewals.

Architecture Overview

Deep Dive: Project Architecture

  • CMS Layer:WordPress with a headless approach for dashboard functionality, using the WordPress REST API plus a React frontend for logged-in areas.

  • GIS Layer: ESRI ArcGIS Online with Leaflet fallback.

  • Permitting & Payments Layer: ViewPoint Cloud REST API integration plus Municipay iframe integration and payment status webhooks.

  • Authentication & Resident Services Layer: Microsoft 365 SAML for staff SSO, resident dashboard logic, multilingual support with WPML, and PWA notifications via a custom service worker.

  • Accessibility & Performance Layer: Accessibility monitoring remained active during expansion, and Core Web Vitals optimization was included in Year 3.

Deep Dive: Project Architecture

Value

Quality & Fidelity

Delivering enterprise-grade reliability without sacrificing usability or municipal fit.

Better Service Continuity

Better Service Continuity

Residents move from public information to permits, payments, and dashboard access inside one connected environment.

Better Municipal Workflow Integration

Better Municipal Workflow Integration

The platform integrates with common New England municipal systems instead of replacing everything.

Better Accessibility Stability

Better Accessibility Stability

Accessibility remained at Lighthouse 100 with zero regression issues during expansion.

Better Long-Term Value

Better Long-Term Value

The engagement proved that the website could grow into a broader resident services platform.

Benchmarks

Scale & Reliability

Built to handle real municipal demand — from day one through multi-year growth.

Long-Term Delivery Model

Long-Term Delivery Model

The town stayed in a three-year continuous contract with two renewals.

High Service Adoption

High Service Adoption

Online permits reached 87% of submissions, up from 12% in 2023.

Strong Payment Volume

Strong Payment Volume

The platform processed $4.2M in online payments during 2025.

Resident Engagement at Scale

Resident Engagement at Scale

Resident accounts reached 3,400 active users.

Data Protection

Security & Compliance

Maintaining trust through consistent accessibility, secure access, and modular evolution.

Staff SSO

Staff SSO

Staff authentication used Microsoft 365 SAML.

Accessibility Continuity

Accessibility Continuity

Accessibility monitoring expanded as the platform grew.

Modular Integration Model

Modular Integration Model

GIS, permitting, and payments were added as modules rather than through full rebuilds.

Innovative Experience

Industries & Use Cases

Purpose-built for local government workflows, from zoning boards to resident self-service.

Town Governments

Town Governments

Strong fit for municipalities moving beyond a basic website into a broader services platform.

Online Permitting and Payments

Online Permitting and Payments

Supports integrated resident transactions and permit status workflows.

GIS and Zoning Workflows

GIS and Zoning Workflows

Supports interactive maps and zoning overlays.

Resident Portal Programs

Resident Portal Programs

Supports dashboards, multilingual services, and digital engagement.

Delivery Crew

Project Team

High-performing developers for growing companies

Eugene Katovich

Eugene Katovich

Sales Manager

Need a municipal platform that can grow from a website into GIS, permits, payments, and resident services?

Plavno helps municipalities launch the right foundation first, then expand into the digital services residents and staff actually need.

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Competitive Ability

Key Performance Flow

Demonstrating how Plavno turns a municipal website into a scalable digital services platform

From foundational redesign to GIS, permitting, payments, and resident self-service — everything grows through one structured modernization roadmap.

01

Launch the core website

Redesign the site, migrate content, support boards, and meet accessibility requirements.

02

Add operational integrations

Connect ArcGIS, permitting, payments, and staff authentication.

03

Expand resident services

Introduce resident dashboards, multilingual access, and notifications.

04

Optimize and report

Track analytics, improve performance, and support long-term town operations.

Delivery & Automation

Delivery & Automation

    • Phased 3-year roadmap with 2 contract renewals

    • WordPress + React headless architecture for dashboard functionality

    • ArcGIS Online integration with Leaflet fallback

    • ViewPoint Cloud REST API permitting integration with SSO

    • Municipay iframe payment integration with status webhooks

    • WPML multilingual support (English/Spanish) with PWA notifications

    • Core Web Vitals optimization after Google algorithm updates

Throughput & Scale

Throughput & Scale

    • 99.97% cumulative uptime over 3 years

    • $4.2M in online payments processed during 2025

    • 87% online permit submissions, up from 12% in 2023

    • 3,400 active resident accounts (~28% of population)

    • Supports 12,000 residents, 40 staff, 15+ boards/commissions

    • 3-year continuous engagement with proven growth capacity

Accessibility & Compliance

Accessibility & Compliance

    • WCAG 2.1 AA compliance maintained from Day 1

    • Lighthouse Accessibility 100 with zero regression across 3 years

    • Microsoft 365 SAML for staff SSO and secure authentication

    • Expanded accessibility monitoring as new modules were added

    • Secure modular integration model without full rebuilds

Results

Measurable outcomes that prove the value of a phased, integrated municipal platform.

Stronger Digital Service Adoption

Stronger Digital Service Adoption

The town dramatically increased online permitting and payment usage.

Better Resident Engagement

Better Resident Engagement

Thousands of residents adopted the new dashboard experience.

Better Platform Longevity

Better Platform Longevity

The platform expanded over three years without needing a rebuild.

Better Accessibility Continuity

Better Accessibility Continuity

Accessibility quality stayed high while the feature set grew.

Higher Operational Efficiency

Higher Operational Efficiency

Staff reduced manual data entry and duplicate work across permitting, payments, and content publishing through integrated workflows.

Tools We Used

Technology stack

CMS & Frontend

CMS & Frontend

WordPress
REST API
React
Performance & Operations

Performance & Operations

Accessibility monitoring
Core Web Vitals optimization
Analytics
Identity & Resident Services

Identity & Resident Services

Microsoft 365 SAML
WPML
PWA
GIS & Mapping

GIS & Mapping

ArcGIS Online
Leaflet
Permits & Payments

Permits & Payments

ViewPoint Cloud
Municipay
Webhooks

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Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Answers

Find answers to your common concerns

Did the project expand beyond a website redesign?

Yes. It grew over three years into GIS, permitting, payments, resident portal features, and multilingual support.

Was accessibility maintained during expansion?

Yes. Lighthouse Accessibility remained at 100, with zero regression issues.

Were common municipal systems integrated?

Yes. The platform integrated ArcGIS, ViewPoint Cloud, Municipay, and Microsoft 365.

Was this a long-term engagement?

Yes. The relationship lasted three years and included two renewals.

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