December 8, 2023 |
Photo – Town of Saratoga website – Bigfoot99 file photo
Saratoga officials, citing complaints from the public, are considering once again how to change the town’s website.
Last December, the town of Saratoga unveiled its new website design. The new site was intended to make accessing town information and paying bills easier.
This week, at the December 5th Saratoga town council meeting, Councilwoman Kathy Beck said people have told her that the new website is too difficult to use.
Councilwoman Beck said she has personally had trouble even finding the town’s new website. The councilwoman said the redesigned site was supposed to make finding information easier.
Last year, the town contracted with the company CivicPlus to design and host the new website. Councilwoman Beck said CivicPlus created a website that some now say is confusing. Beck said the town could reduce costs by removing hosting duties from the website company. Instead of contracting with CivicPlus again next year, Beck suggested hiring a local to design a new town website and move the hosting duties in-house.
Councilwoman Beck said a local web designer will work closely with the town to tailor the website to the public’s needs. Beck said using her plan, the town would only incur a one-time fee as opposed to a yearly contract.
Mayor Chuck Davis said he supports Beck’s idea. Mayor Davis said the website was created to be an easy-to-access place to store town documents. If the site doesn’t fill that need, the mayor said they may need to change it.
Mayor Davis authorized Councilwoman Beck to further investigate the idea of redesigning the website and bringing hosting duties in-house. Beck asked members of the public to contact town hall with suggestions of how to make the website better.
Town of Saratoga website: townofsaratoga.org
