Building the new ELDAC website: how did we get here?
A blog by Dr Vivien Tong, Research Fellow, ELDAC
Here at ELDAC, we have been on quite the journey over the past year to build our new website. Bringing it to life was a coordinated team effort, drawing on multidisciplinary expertise within ELDAC as well as invaluable input from members of the sector.
The purpose of a new ELDAC website
The reason why we sought to redevelop the ELDAC website is to help users easily access information and resources needed to provide good quality palliative care and end of life care. This is why it was important to be guided by a user-centred, co-design process when developing the new website.
Steps we have taken

A substantial amount of work underpinned the stepwise approach leading to the first stage release of the new ELDAC website. After the team initially reviewed the website in early 2024 and a Knowledge Hub Working Group was formed, we conducted a card sort activity to better understand how people group certain concepts together. The intention was to explore different ways that we could group information within the new website.
Co-design workshop
The ELDAC Flinders team then organised a co-design workshop in August 2024. We invited our Knowledge Hub Working Group members, stakeholders and aged care staff to come together in person to discuss priorities that the ELDAC website should address for users, and to co-design a home page for the new ELDAC website which would reflect its purpose and value. A genuine consensus emerged for the home page design which guided our build efforts.
Website build
Building the new website was a rigorous process. We needed to find optimal ways to implement the vision stemming from the co-design workshop. Design and function had to support new content and incorporate content already available within the ELDAC website. The team worked together iteratively to present content in an understandable and meaningful way. A big focus, particularly for new pages aimed at a broader audience, was on the language used. We wanted to communicate key messages in ways that could be understood by people with different health literacy levels.
User testing
After intensive internal review and initial checks, the test (beta) website underwent user testing. We invited people to complete specific tasks using the new website and asked for their views on the new pages/sections. We received positive and useful feedback, together with suggested improvements to consider.
Final build stage
The final build stage involved systematically reviewing the responses received and deciding on changes needed to further improve the new website prior to release.
Presenting our new ELDAC website
The new ELDAC website has been developed for the sector, with members of the sector.
For anyone familiar with the previous ELDAC website look, one of the most noticeable changes is the home page itself. The new home page has a simpler, cleaner look with more direct navigation to ELDAC’s core information and resources.
Our current home page

The ELDAC Care Model is the main feature on our new home page. You can now click on any of the elements of the model and immediately access an explainer page on the topic.
New ‘About You’ pages have tailored resources to help you find information that is relevant to you and the care role you have. We have also reorganised the way content is grouped together based on the card sort activity and co-design feedback.
'I am a nurse' page

An improved website search function has also been rolled out, which will help enhance your experience of searching for what you need within the ELDAC website.
Watch this space
Please keep an eye out in the coming months for more website updates as we update the ELDAC Toolkits and provide resources to prepare for the new Standards and the Act coming into play in the sector.
Our goal is to continue to build a hub of knowledge that is useful and relevant across the different roles and settings in which palliative care and end of life care is provided.
Thank you very much to everyone who has supported and contributed towards our new website. Your voice, input and support have shaped its development.

Dr Vivien Tong
Research Fellow, ELDAC
Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death, and Dying (RePaDD)