City of Saint John and ISL Launch New City site "Raising the Bar for Municipal Websites"

    HALIFAX, NS, July 22, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The City of Saint John, New Brunswick has a new website. Building on public feedback and a desire to improve customer service, through an RFP process, Common Council selected ISL Web Marketing & Development to lead the creation of its new web asset. The City's project team worked closely with ISL to develop a new layout, design, and structure reflect the service delivery model the City has adopted, and ultimately provide an improved user experience. The City expects the new site to be the preferred method for residents to find information.

Mayor Ivan Court officially launched the website on the evening of July 19, during a televised council meeting.

Raising the bar for municipal websites
"We needed a site that would reflect the quality and breadth of the services that we deliver and a site that would engage our citizens," said Andrew Beckett, Deputy City Manager, Programs and Priorities. "ISL worked with the feedback we received from the public and our own staff to deliver something that we think, will raise the bar for municipal websites."

With hundreds of pages and a broad range of user groups to serve, a great deal of emphasis was placed on information architecture. The new site map is both more comprehensive and easier to navigate. Residents, visitors, and businesspeople each have areas devoted to their needs. The City services information is easier to find and more robust, including budget and performance data, to provide transparency into how well the City is doing.

"We were very excited about this project," said Malcolm Fraser, CEO of ISL. "the work that the project team had done prior to our engagement was a critical success factor. This site will set the standard for municipal websites, and be a strong platform for growth for the city."

Site features include:
Located at Saintjohn.ca, the bilingual website features rich content for all audiences, including:
- Improved photography throughout the site
- Community and council events calendar
- Services portal browsable via service program or alphabetical directory
- A "What you need to know" section for each service that will be frequently updated, for example weekly construction reports in the Roadway Maintenance section
- Tighter integration of social media such as Twitter and Facebook
- My Saint John personalized portal
- Extensive area maps
- Context-based customer service forms

Designed for growth
A number of steps were planned to ensure the site will maintain its design and usability as it evolves over the long-term. Easy to manage content, a Web Governance plan and the ability to personalize the constituent experience were implemented.

Easy to manage content
The website is built on OneWeb CMS 6.0, allowing Saint John to disseminate content management responsibility throughout the organization. As well, members of the City's IT department have been trained on how to develop on the OneWeb CMS platform so they can create new templates and custom applications in the future.

Web Governance Plan
Due to the breadth of services and broader involvement of staff in the website, the City required a detailed plan for organizing, updating and creating content going forward. ISL worked with Saint John to create a Web Governance plan to put quality measures in place so that as the site evolves over the years, there is managed growth and a process for making changes and enhancements.

My Saint John
Making the site relevant to its constituents was a top priority. With the establishment of My Saint John, people can now create an account and, by providing a civic address, receive information on their ward and councilors, and garbage pickup for example, as well as sign up for notifications most relevant to them. Phase 2 of this project will see the integration of personalized maps and updates on construction or events happening in citizen's neighbourhoods.

About The City of Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada's Original City is the country's first incorporated city. Since 1785, the City has been providing municipal services. Today, over 900 employees deliver quality fire, police, building, inspection, development, roadways, water, wastewater, recreation and neighbourhood improvement services to 69,000 residents.

For More Information
Stephanie Lummis
Marketing Director, ISL
[email protected]
(902) 444-3226

Leah Fitzgerald
Communications Officer
[email protected]
(506) 648-3714

Founded in 1995, ISL is a full service web marketing and development company, guided by our relentless focus on understanding how users behave online. In addition to OneWeb CMS, services include website design & development, web usability, Google Analytics consulting and Internet marketing. ISL is the first web company in North America to be ISO 9001:2000 certified; OneWeb CMS is just one example of its dedication to continuous improvement and innovation. ISL has offices in Halifax, Moncton and Vancouver.

Website: http://www.isl.ca

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