You are looking for specific information on the website of the Beynat community of municipalities in Corrèze. Opening hours of the town hall, water service, contact form: each click in a dropdown menu takes you further from your goal. The sitemap of cc-beynat.fr offers a direct alternative, an overview of all available pages, organized and accessible at a glance.
The sitemap, a navigation shortcut often overlooked
A sitemap (sometimes called an HTML sitemap) is a single page that lists all the sections and subpages of a website. On a local government site like that of the Beynat community of municipalities, this includes pages related to municipal services, administrative procedures, schedules, and information about residents and the territory.
You may have noticed that public site menus sometimes group dozens of nested links? The sitemap bypasses this problem. It displays a flat structure, without hovering or intermediate clicks. You locate the desired page, click, and it’s done.
Specifically, by consulting the sitemap of cc-beynat.fr, you access the complete list of sections of the intercommunal portal: water and sanitation, urban planning, waste collection, community life, community council resolutions. Each link points directly to the corresponding page, without going through a submenu.
Digital accessibility: why the sitemap matters for local authorities in Corrèze
The sitemap is not just a convenience tool. It also serves a regulatory accessibility function. French RGAA audit recommendations include the sitemap among the pages to be prioritized for review, alongside the homepage, contact page, and legal notices.
Why this choice? Because some users cannot easily navigate a standard menu. A person using a screen reader, for example, or someone with a slow internet connection in a rural town in Dordogne or Corrèze, will find a reliable alternative access in the sitemap.
The legal framework applicable to intercommunalities
Article 47 of the law of February 11, 2005, requires public legal entities, including community municipalities, to make their websites accessible. This framework provides for an accessibility declaration, a visible compliance notice, and a multi-year accessibility plan.
The sitemap contributes to this compliance without replacing it. It serves as an additional access point for people with disabilities, seniors unfamiliar with digital tools, or any resident in a hurry.
Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act further expands digital accessibility obligations in Europe. French local authorities were already subject to the RGAA, but this directive strengthens the focus on navigation quality on public sites.
Finding municipal information without knowing the right section
On an intercommunal site, pages are often organized by administrative competence: drinking water, roads, early childhood, accessibility, urban planning. This classification makes sense for a territorial agent. It makes less sense for a resident who simply wants to know what time the town hall in Saint-Pierre opens or how to contact the water service.
The sitemap displays all pages without hidden hierarchy. You don’t need to guess if “town hall hours” is under “Services” or “Practical Life.” The page appears in the list, with its exact title.
Three situations where the sitemap saves time
- You are looking for the price of water or the rates of an intercommunal service, but the site’s internal search engine returns nothing relevant. The sitemap lists the “water and sanitation” section with its pricing subpages.
- You need to download an administrative form (school registration, urban planning request) and you don’t know which section it is in. The sitemap groups documents by theme.
- You are browsing from a phone with a limited connection. The sitemap is a lightweight page, without heavy images or complex scripts, that loads quickly even in rural areas.
Sitemap and internal search engine: two complementary tools
Most local authority websites offer a search field. The one on the Beynat site, for example, is accessible from the main menu. So why use the sitemap in addition?
The search engine works by keywords. It assumes you know the exact term used by the site. If you type “bins” while the page is titled “waste collection,” you may find nothing.
The sitemap, on the other hand, shows the actual titles of the pages. You browse the list and visually recognize the correct section. It is an exploratory navigation, complementary to search navigation.
For residents of the Beynat municipality or intercommunality who regularly consult the site, the sitemap also serves as a stable reference point. Menus may change structure during a graphic redesign. The sitemap maintains the same display logic, making it a reliable entry point over time.
When to prioritize one or the other
- Use the search engine when you know the exact name of a document, service, or resolution.
- Use the sitemap when you don’t know how the site names what you are looking for, or when you want to discover all available sections.
- Combine both: first identify the correct section via the sitemap, then refine with the search engine if the section contains many pages.
A well-structured sitemap reduces the number of clicks between your arrival on the intercommunal portal and the information sought. On a public service site, where each visit often corresponds to a specific need (hours, required documents, mayor’s contact details), this time saving is not trivial. Before digging through menus, a quick look at the sitemap often resolves the issue in seconds.
