What do you want on the web?
Warwickshire County Council is inviting residents to be part of the ‘IT crowd’ and have their say on how it can improve the council’s presence on the web – by writing their comments on the web designers’ blog.
The existing Warwickshire County Council website has been up and running for over ten years, but this will be the biggest overhaul that the county council’s web pages have ever had.
The aim is to make the county council’s web presence far more useful to residents, businesses and visitors to the area, who are increasingly using the web to access council services as well as information.
The county council wants to use feedback from residents themselves to influence how the new websites take shape.
So its web designers have started a blog (http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/webproject) which will not only let people know how the web pages are developing, but will also enable residents to make comments and suggestions as the redesign takes place.
Councillor Colin Hayfield, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customers, Workforce and Partnerships, said: “With over 300,000 visits each month, our existing website is already very well used, but as internet usage grows we want to transform the council’s presence on the web.
“The important thing is that residents will be able to see the redesign take place and will be able to comment as the project moves along, thereby influencing it at every step of the way.”
The web designers will set to work in the next few weeks and have already posted their first blog entry at http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/webproject. The aim is to the launch the council’s new web presence in April 2011.
Feedback on the existing Warwickshire County Council website has suggested that some users think it is cluttered and needs to be more user-friendly.
So the existing website will be divided into four new websites, each aimed at different users with different services on offer: a ‘Warwickshire Direct’ website, a Warwickshire County Council website, ‘The Zone’ (for children and young people) and a website for staff and partners.
If a resident wants to access a council service in Warwickshire, the ‘Warwickshire Direct’ website will be the place on the web where they need to go. Among many services, residents will, for example, be able to report potholes, renew library books and do many of the things that they currently do in person at county council venues.
‘The Zone’, set up by Warwickshire Police, will be aimed at children and young people and bring together information aimed specifically at them, for example, details about young people’s activities and information on how to stay safe.
To find out more about Warwickshire County Council’s web developments and add your views visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/webproject.