COLUMN FOR 11/23/2017 REGISTER STAR
COUNTY WEBSITE
Friday, December 1 is set to be the big day. Roughly mid-day, Columbia County will hit the switch on the updated county website, which can be located at columbiacountyny.com.
At the outset, we had two major goals: To make the site easily navigable, and to make it visually appealing. Standardization of the site, incorporating all county departments, was a foremost consideration. In addition, visitors to the site will find an array of photos featuring Columbia County scenes, ranging from vistas of the four seasons, to depictions of the diverse nature -- cityscapes to rural views -- of our county.
Following a period of trial and error, I believe we hit upon a site that allows for ease of use. Upon opening the home page, the visitor will see links to “Your Government,” “County Services,” “Town Links,” “Our Community,” and “Contact.” These choices were made based on evidence that reflected the types of information visitors immediately seek when entering a government website.
But that’s not all. Within those links lie a wealth of information. For instance, “Your Government” leads to the Board of Supervisors page, the board’s calendar of events, committee information, election results, employment opportunities, and more. “Our Community” leads instantly to information on such areas as law enforcement, public records, courts, voter registration, schools and school closings, and Columbia-Greene Community College. Public records and portals to additional forms and records will be easily accessible.
Lower on the home page, a section has been devoted to current county news and announcements. For those who prefer the county Facebook page, this information will also appear on that site.
While at this time not all county departments websites feature the new design, over the coming months this unified format will be introduced across the board to provide the user with a completely seamless experience. I’m excited to see the county move toward a more comprehensive look that, most importantly, gives all visitors the site the best possible chance of locating the information they seek as quickly as possible. Yes, the new look is important, but at the end of the day we saw it as our mission to create a user-friendly environment.
For their efforts in moving this project along, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rick Juliano, chief technology officer of county Managed Information Systems; Board of Supervisors clerk Kelly Baccaro and deputy clerk Angela Rothermel; Adam Miller of the county tourism department, and Kevin Johnson.