Hartford Launches Test Version Of New City Website
Published on April 22, 2020
HARTFORD, CONN (April 22, 2020) – Today the City of Hartford launched a test version of a new, redesigned City website in order to get feedback from users. The city invites users to review the site by clicking a link at the top of the home page. The test website features a clean, modernized layout that prioritizes access to the most frequently used services, and the development process included a survey of residents to hear what users were looking for in a new website. This website is a draft site for beta testing and is not yet complete. The City plans to fully launch the new website in July and will use this period to test the site, make improvements, and continue adding content and functionality. The current version of Hartford.gov will remain operational until then.
“Our current website has been unwieldy and out of date for a long time, and we're taking a big step forward toward a more modern, user-friendly website that lets residents, businesses, and visitors alike get the services and information they need quickly and easily,” said Mayor Luke Bronin. “We’re launching this test site now, well ahead of the full launch of the website, because we want the chance to get as much feedback as possible from our residents. Our team has been working very hard to transition content, redesign the look and feel of the site, and add new services, and while there's a lot more work to do, we want to make sure that we're able to get feedback before we finalize the site. I want to thank Janice Castle, who led all of our departments through this process, as well as Charisse Snipes, who leads our city information technology team, and I also want to thank Open Cities for their great support.”
“Our team at MHIS has been working hard behind the scenes to get this transition started, and we are excited for our residents to get a look at this test site,” said Charisse Snipes, Interim Director of Metro Hartford Innovation Services. “We will continue to work on the site and improve it ahead of the full launch, and we are looking forward to incorporating residents’ feedback.”
“The more we can put information at the fingertips of our residents, the better we are able to serve them,” said Janice Castle, Director of Community Engagement. “We work every day to answer residents’ questions and get them the services they need, and we hope this new website will be a tool to do that more effectively and in a user-friendly way.”
The test website was developed by Open Cities, which has helped build more than 500 government websites in North America, working in close collaboration with City departments.