County launches new website

Polkcounty. org’s new design l aunched i n June following site problems after months of work by IT Director David Smith From Staff Reports

Polk County’s new website is up and running following a switchover near the end of June to a new system to conclude months of work put in by IT manager David Smith.

Smith showed off a version of the website to county commissioner earlier in June, but the site wasn’t supposed to come online until everyone had given it a final go-ahead.

However, Smith reported to the public works committee at the end of June, the site had to be launched ahead of time because of problems that came up with the old site and expiring accounts.

“We ran into a problem with a subscription that locked us out, so I went ahead and got the new one up and running,” Smith said.

Now in full operation, the new website for the county offers easier navigation and an updated design, along with specific areas that in the near future specific departments will be able to update with their own content.

Smith said the website can also translate into dozens of different languages for visitors who want to learn more about Polk County from around the globe.

A new calendar system also offers a place to find on the front page when upcoming meetings are being held for committees, the commission and various boards within local government.

Smith said based on Google Analytics, in the short time it had been up based on numbers presented on June 30, the number of sessions and pageviews have already increased, along with a 76 percent increase in new sessions.