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Update on Town of Carrboro Website Redesign
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is to update the Town Council on the Town of Carrboro website redesign and related improvements.
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DEPARTMENT: Communication and Engagement
CONTACT INFORMATION: Catherine Lazorko, Communication and Engagement Director, clazorko@carrbornc.gov, (919) 918-7314
INFORMATION: The purpose of this agenda item is to provide the Town Council with an update on the redesign of the Town of Carrboro website at www.carrboronc.gov. The new redesign is anticipated to launch on April 22, 2022. It will feature a new aesthetic and improved navigation.
The Town's website is a content management system designed and hosted by CivicPlus, a national website development company that specializes in city and county website design. Our current website design has been in place since 2014.
The Communication and Engagement Department began the work on the website redesign in May 2021, involving the Town Communications Team with representation from all departments.
To better understand our user preferences, staff reviewed website analytics, conducted a communitywide survey to gather input about people's observations and feedback about the website, and engaged with a UNC-Chapel Hill Hussman School of Media and Journalism user experience design class led by Professor Laura Ruel for assistance. Four class teams conducted research on a variety of areas of the website. In their research, users were asked to perform website tasks, and questioned about the efficiency and enjoyment of the experience.
This research has influenced the new website redesign and has helped set a plan for improvements anticipated in the near future. Town staff will continue to refine various elements, rebuild webpages and streamline content.
Some of the questions that we posed include whether the homepage links work well for user needs; to determine if the overall navigation is usable and efficient; a...
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