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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.F.3. Discussion of Possible Website Redesign tO . F• 3 , City of Shakopee MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Kris Wilson, Assistant City Administrator Y�V�,� �'N" Lori Cram, Communications Coordinator SUBJECT: Discussion of Possible Website Redesign DATE: lune 12, 2012 Introduction The Council is asked to discuss and provide input regarding interest in and goals for a possible redesign of the City's website. Background The City's current website was created in late 2005/early 2006. More than six years later it has grown dated and lacks many of the newer features the public has come to expect. Therefore staff would like the Council to consider a redesign of the website—either in the remaining months of 2012 or in 2013. A redesign would encompass both a new look for the site as well as software to manage the content and run the back-end portion of the site which staff interacts with. The City currently uses a content management software called Savvy to manage the website. At the time this software was acquired in 2005 it was a significant step forward over the previous method of maintaining the City's website, providing a very user friendly means of making updates to various pages of the website and a uniform look and feel to the individual pages that make up the site. However,the software has stagnated to some degree and does not provide the functionality that staff would like to see in the City's site moving forward. Some of the features we would hope to achieve with a new website include: • A robust site for viewing on a desk or laptop computer that automatically transforms for easy viewing and navigation on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. • The ability to update information in one step and then have it push that information out to multiple platforms such as the City's website, Facebook page and Twitter account. • Improved features for users—a citizen request system to report problems, sign-up for e- notifications when there is new information posted in an area of interest, and more intuitive navigation that updates your menu options by department or area of the site. • The ability to schedule publication and deletion of items. This will keep the site looking more current, save staff time and help when someone is off on vacation, leave, etc. To date, staff has researched two options that are gaining market share among metro-area cities— Vision Internet and Civic Plus. Examples of the websites created and run by Vision Internet include Plymouth (www.ci.plymouth.mn.us) and Eden Prairie (www.edenprairie.org). Examples of Civic Plus sites include Burnsville (www.burnsville.or�), Brooklyn Center(www.ci.brooklyn-center.mn.us) and Excelsior(www.ci.excelsior.mn.us). Both appear to offer the features, flexibility and updated design that staff would recommend. However, before proceeding any further, staff would like a better feeling for the level of Council support for upgrading the website as well as what features or functionality the Council would like to see as compared to the preliminary list put together by staff. Budget Impact Based on preliminary research, staff would estimate the cost of redesigning the website and acquiring a new content management system to produce a site on par with those referenced above to be in the $30,000 to $40,000 price range. This would be a one-time cost but would also come with an ongoing annual licensing and maintenance costs in the $5,000 to $7,500 range. Money for this project was not included in the 2012 operating budget. If the Council is interested in proceeding with a website upgrade, staff could use the feedback provided on the 19`h to refine our research and present a firm cost proposal during the 2013 budget process. Alternatively, if there is a desire to move this project forward before 2013, Council could consider using funds from the unallocated line item or the General Fund fund balance to start the project yet this fall. Requested Action The Council is asked to discuss and provide feedback regarding interest in and goals for an upgraded website.