Websites for Local Government: Serve Your Citizens

By: Paul Flyer
Submitted: 2007-01-17 14:59:05
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In a democracy, it is important for local governments to connect with its citizens. A quality website is one way in which municipalities can keep in touch with citizens and keep them informed.

What should be included on such a website?

  • Contact Information for all leaders: mayor, council people, dept heads, etc.
  • Email form for people to send questions, comments and requests. It is also recommended each email be given a personal response by the appropriate leader.
  • City Council minutes and any committee minutes that are legally available to the public. Making such documents easily accessible builds trust and accessibility.
  • Make the city newsletter available in HMTL and PDF formats
  • List of all available services
  • All government forms available in PDF format. This could help save on postage.
  • Links to other important city resources such as the Chamber of Commerce and the local school district.

A lot of local city websites are ugly and clunky. It is understandable that some cities, especially small ones, cannot afford a quality web developer. Such cities should work with local colleges to find individuals interested in some kind of internship. This kind of exchange benefits both the city and the student.

The website should be optimized so when a citizen types "Localtown, IL" in a search engine, the city website is in the top ten results.

All city letterhead, newsletters, and any public relation material should include the website address.

Cities should also consider using some form of content management system. A qualified web developer could help cities with the initial design and CMS setup, but the maintenance of the site would be left to well trained city employees. It would surprise many how simple it is to update content with the right content management system. Content management systems do not have to be expensive, there are actually quite a few that are free.

Don't despair over the state of your cities website. Tools and resources are available to improve any website.

Paul Flyer writes and maintains Recommended Web Tools, an online resource for web development beginners. Individuals can visit our web development and design resources for a list of tools to improve their city's website.

Article source: Expert Articles

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