New Web site expected to be launched later this year
CYBER SPACE The Web portal into the city of Santa Monica is about to get an extreme makeover.
Three years after the Web site — santa-monica.org — received a facelift, the city is contracting another Web designer for a big revamp.
“We thought it was a good time to redesign the site,” said Jory Wolf, the chief information officer with the city’s Information Systems Division.“We find that it’s (site) not as easy to navigate as we like it to be.”
The city is currently in the process of receiving proposals and will close its bidding on May 24. A new designer should be selected by the end of the month and the new site should be up and running by August. The new site is estimated to cost just under $40,000.
The trouble with the current Web site is its template and color scheme, which Wolf called “overwhelming” since it restricts the amount of flexibility departments have in posting photos and other color presentations.
The goal with the new site would be to make it more visually accessible as the current layout is too overcrowded, said Kate Vernez, the assistant to the City Manager for governmental relations.
“I think it’s too crowded,” Vernez said. “If you look at it, it’s kind of a rigid framework.”
She also pointed out that many of the graphics on the Web site are outdated, including the top three, which reads, “Shape the Future 2025,” “Motion by the Ocean,” and “Issues in Action: Homelessness.”
“We’re looking for clarity and crispness,” she said.
City staff is looking to private corporate Web sites as a model to follow, specifically pointing out the Apple and Sony sites as excellent examples of the direction they would like to go.
“Their templates are very simple and it allows, as you navigate the site, to have a variety of experiences,” Wolf said. “It’s not always the same colors, not always the same format, and it’s easy to navigate because it doesn’t change erratically.”
Created in 2004, the city’s current site, with the famous city logo and Santa Monica Pier sign, has received dozens of awards over the years, including the Public Technology Institute awards and the Los Angeles Business Journal award.
The site allows residents to receive city services without making a trip to City Hall, saving both residents and city staff time. Santa Monica became a leader in virtual services in 1996 when it first started using the Web as a medium through which residents could pay their bills and download forms.
Today, residents can register online for recreation activities, pay their water and refuse bills, apply for building permits and inspections, and pay their parking tickets. Archived broadcasts from City Council, Planning Commission and Rent Control Board meetings are also streamed online. The city is also looking to offer download-able podcasts of those meetings.
The site draws millions of hits every year and 23 million hits are expected next year.
The current site was designed at a time when the long scroll format was popular. Many cities that adopted this format ended with sites similar to the crowded newspaper format, Wolf said.
The Santa Monica Police Department is looking to create a site around the community’s needs, offering new services such as a mapping system with crime statistics.
Ideally, the new site would also include information specific to each neighborhood, said Eric Uller, the lead public safety system analyst.
The SMPD is looking to add more e-commerce services to its current list, which allows residents to contest parking tickets online and submit a request to receive police reports, though those reports can only be picked up in person.
“It’s about making it easier for the citizens of the community,” Uller said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 9, 2007. Read the original PDF.