Modernizing Broome County's Website
Websites are an essential part of modern life.
They're the face of businesses, services and governments. We've come to expect to use them to find information quickly and submit forms & requests online.
The Broome County website handles more than 2.5 million page requests annually on a platform that's built on 10-year old technology. It is poorly organized, hard-to-use, and outdated. It has nearly 29,000 information "nodes" - many of which have not been accessed in years. The menu system is cumbersome and un-intuitive. It's terribly difficult to use on a mobile device. And the site has hardly any online forms that can be submitted without printing them off and sending them in!
They're the face of businesses, services and governments. We've come to expect to use them to find information quickly and submit forms & requests online.
The Broome County website handles more than 2.5 million page requests annually on a platform that's built on 10-year old technology. It is poorly organized, hard-to-use, and outdated. It has nearly 29,000 information "nodes" - many of which have not been accessed in years. The menu system is cumbersome and un-intuitive. It's terribly difficult to use on a mobile device. And the site has hardly any online forms that can be submitted without printing them off and sending them in!
Broome County needs a new website!
We need a website that's:
That's why I've been working with our County's IT department to revamp the current monstrosity.
- Well-organized,
- Intuitive-to-use,
- Mobile-friendly,
- Streamlined,
- Searchable, and
- It must have online forms that can be submitted from a browser or app.
That's why I've been working with our County's IT department to revamp the current monstrosity.
Desktop prototype of what I imagine the Broome County website should look like.
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Mobile prototype of what I imagine Broome County website should look like.
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The two images above are a working prototype of what I envision the Broome County website becoming. The one on the left is the desktop version, while the one on the right is a mobile version. Since a huge number of our website users are coming from mobile devices, the mobile-friendly layout is crucial. You'll notice that both versions are streamlined, intuitive-to-use, and entirely searchable. Once we have the website in this format, then we'll begin adding forms, functionality, and expanding the search features.
I know it'll take time and a lot of hard work, but I know we can build it!
I know it'll take time and a lot of hard work, but I know we can build it!
In the age of mobile computing, Broome County needs a modern, mobile-friendly website.
Finally, it's worth noting that a tremendous number of Broome County's web-users are coming to our website to see bus schedules. Broome County is currently working on a bus app, called Where's My Bus. This app should allow riders to see where buses are, look at schedules from inside an app, and purchase fares from their phones.
I'm here to make government as transparent & responsive.
A good website is key to that.
A good website is key to that.