By Amy Deis

Monday, 19 December 2011

The City of Austin launched a beta version of its redesigned website, www.austintexas.gov, on Dec. 19 and is asking the public for feedback.

The site features a redesigned look, improved search capacity and easier navigation, said Chris Florance, Web content manager and public information officer. The site was also built for better viewing on tablets and smartphones, the latter of which is the source of about 60 percent of the site’s traffic.

“The biggest difference is the appearance and design,” Florance said. “It looks good on a number of different devices.”

The site’s main page is broken into five user-centric sections: resident, business, development, government and environmental. Each has its own home page with more topic tabs that provide information on issues such as meetings, permits, development fees, taxes and City Council.

During the beta period, each page on the website will feature a feedback tab on the right-hand side that allows users to share any problems they encounter or ideas they have to improve the site. City staff will implement fixes as soon as possible and evaluate suggestions for future improvements.

“It’s built specifically for Austin,” Florance said. “The feedback will be an important part.”

Florance said staff will publish any issues that have been resolved as well as commonly encountered problems.

The official launch of the new website is Jan. 12, but the city will continue to gather feedback and ideas for improvement thereafter. The city’s old website will be slowly phased out.