Rebuilding with Purpose: A Custom Website for RSL Victoria
Key Outcomes
A ground-up redesign to honour RSL Victoria’s legacy, improve accessibility, and better connect with veterans and their families.
Overview
Rebuilding a Website That Reflects a Century of Service
RSL Victoria plays a critical role in supporting veterans and their families across the state. But their previous website wasn’t reflecting that mission.
The content was there, but buried beneath inconsistent structure, dated design, and poor usability. For older users, those with accessibility needs, or people under stress seeking support, the site was difficult to navigate.
The organisation needed a modern website that honoured their legacy while meeting the expectations of today’s digital audience.
Key Challenges
- Unclear site structure: Important information was hard to find, creating barriers for users needing quick access to support.
- Lack of accessibility features: The old site didn’t meet accessibility best practices, problematic for an audience that includes elderly veterans, people with impairments, and non-tech-savvy users.
- Large volume of existing content: Hundreds of pages and posts needed to be reviewed, restructured, and migrated to the new site.
- Low engagement and search visibility: With unoptimised content and outdated SEO structure, the site wasn’t ranking well or drawing in new users through organic search.
- Hard-to-manage backend: Updating the site was time-consuming and often required external support, limiting the internal team’s ability to stay current.
From the Client
Meg Gannon
RSL Victoria
I wanted to say a humongous thank you for all your work on our new website. I felt so taken care of from the very beginning by you and your team, and the end product was just spectacular. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with everyone at SGD and won’t hesitate to recommend you and your team to anyone looking for some website and digital marketing work.
The Solution
A Clearer Path Forward: Rebuilding RSL Victoria Online
We worked closely with RSL Victoria to reimagine their website, ensuring their new website communicated trust, ease of use, and practical support for the community they serve.
- Developed a refreshed website design that modernises the RSL brand while retaining its heritage
- Built a custom navigation system tailored to key audiences including veterans, families, and volunteers
- Migrated hundreds of existing content pieces into a cleaner, more structured layout
- Implemented accessibility features aligned to WCAG standards, including high-contrast layouts and keyboard-friendly navigation
- Created optimised page structures and metadata to support improved search rankings
- Integrated clear, consistent calls to action across service and support pages
- Delivered a user-friendly CMS to allow internal teams to manage updates independently
- Provided premium hosting with enhanced speed, security, and ongoing support
The Result
A Mission-Aligned Website
The new website now acts as a powerful, user-friendly platform that supports RSL Victoria’s mission—connecting veterans and the community with the services, resources, and support they need.
- Visitors are finding key services faster, with simplified pathways and clearer site structure
- Engagement has improved thanks to well-placed calls to action and optimised page design
- Accessibility standards now meet WCAG compliance, improving usability across all audiences
- Search visibility has increased for key veteran-related keywords and support queries
- Internal staff are confidently managing content updates without relying on developers
- The site now serves as a strong foundation for future growth, outreach, and advocacy
