Zone 7 Water Agency announced their revamped website earlier this month, which features a streamlined and more user-friendly platform with updated content, improved cybersecurity and a fresh new look.
Agency officials said in a statement that the website is “designed to be simpler and more user-friendly, increasing the transparency of the district and ensuring accessibility for all users (including users with disabilities) on all platforms”.
“The website will provide a more user-friendly, transparent and accessible space for the entire community,” said CEO Olivia Sanwong.
As part of the agency’s five-year strategic plan, the full digital makeover process began by assessing how community members have interacted with the site over the past few years and determining what content they access most often.
With this information in mind, the new site was then designed to be quick and easy to navigate, whether users are looking for application forms or news and updates from Zone 7.
Particular attention has been paid to accessibility improvements to cater to users with motor, visual, auditory, or cognitive disabilities and to ensure that the website works properly on a variety of devices, especially assistive technologies such as screen readers.
Developed to meet “the gold standard for accessible websites,” the enhancements also increase the website’s search engine optimization (SEO) rating by ranking the district’s most popular website pages higher in search results for the terms most searched for by users. This will help users quickly find information from the district, officials said.
“With the increasing cybersecurity demands on critical infrastructure,” officials said, the website has been redesigned with an updated hosting platform, content management systems, and encrypted and secure connections, “to reflect best practices” and “to maintain integrity and availability of information and the privacy and security of Zone 7 community members when using the Site. “
Zone 7 spokeswoman Alexandra Bradley told The Weekly that the agency “is very excited to introduce the new website,” which can be accessed from a desktop computer, smartphone or tablet.
In a previous statement, Bradley stated that Zone 7 “will evolve based on what we hear and see from our community” and that the site “will always be and always should be.”
“We believe this new website will be a huge step forward in providing the community with the resources it needs,” said Bradley.
A number of “water-related” resources are now available on the website, including educational resources for teachers. A Kid Zone Schools virtual program offers free distance learning that teachers can assign to students on their own schedule.
Staff can “quickly adjust the architecture of the site if necessary to respond to changing needs of the community,” and a “Site Feedback” link in the site footer encourages user feedback, which is also submitted at zone7water.com/feedback can be .
In total, the agency paid $ 66,513 to Digital Deployment to design and build the entire website. According to Bradley, a 10% quota was “not used and on budget”. A communications company was also hired to help create content and copywriting for $ 29,500.
The redesigned Zone 7 website can be visited at www.zone7water.com.
Comments are closed.