Agenda Information Sheet
DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office
CM/ ACM: Bryan Langley
Date: February 21, 2017
SUBJECT
Title
Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding the City’s website, www.cityofdenton.com.
Body
BACKGROUND
The City launched a redesigned website on December 12, 2016. Since the launch date, staff has received feedback from internal and external users and has made some updates to the site.
Post-Launch Feedback and Updates
Font readability - we received comments through social media during the initial launch about the readability of the website font. We made initial adjustments to the font weight and color in the forms and search functions to address specific concerns in those areas. We passed the comment about the general font weight and type on to the design team at Imaginuity. The design team did not recommend making changes at this time, but staff will continue to monitor any user feedback regarding this issue. Staff has not received additional concerns or feedback about general font readability.
Maps - The site includes a maps page with key facilities identified on a user-friendly Google Maps interface (https://www.cityofdenton.com/maps). We received feedback from both users and departments that the City’s printable and web-based GIS maps should also be featured on this page. Staff has created a GIS maps page that combines City-generated maps onto one comprehensive page. This is currently housed in the Land Development section and is linked from various other pages throughout the site. PCO is working with Imaginuity to add a link to that page from the Google Maps template to have one central gateway for maps.
Staff Directory - One of the key elements of the website is standardization of contact information. The Committee on Citizen Engagement discussed this topic at length in the earliest stages of website development, as it is important for users to be able to quickly find one central phone number, email, and physical address for departments in the City. The new website features a department directory with this information (<https://www.cityofdenton.com/government/departments>), and it also provides a standard template for contact information on relevant pages. Department email addresses have been standardized across the organization to reduce dependency on the contact information of a single employee. Staff has, however, received several requests for a staff directory listing the contact information for individual employees. We are working with Imaginuity on a solution for this that would provide contact information for specific employees within a department.
Department-Specific Content Development - Staff has been working with several departments on content development to either add, reorganize, or create content for the website. PCO has met with and has a plan to address the content needs for Development Services, Solid Waste, Fire, Watershed Protection, and DME in the next 30 days. Staff will provide an update to the Committee on the new operating model for the website and discuss department feedback.
Citizen Requests
The website provides a centralized “Report an Issue” option to submit an electronic form to City staff. In the first 30 days after launch, 108 issues were reported through this option. The primary issues reported were routed to Solid Waste, Customer Service, and Police. Staff will provide an update to the Committee on this service and future options for enhancing the City’s digital customer service response.
EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1- Presentation
Respectfully submitted:
Alison Ream
Administrative Services Manager