Council picks firm for website redesign

Anyone who’s visited the Perry Village website lately — at least as of Aug. 30 — has been greeted by a message stating, “We’re sorry, our site is currently under construction.”

But the website — perryvillage.info — isn’t going to stay in that condition for long, if all goes as planned.

Perry Village Council has selected Lake Metro Web of Willoughby to provide design, hosting and maintenance services for the village’s website. Council approved a contract with Lake Metro Web at a special meeting on Aug. 23. This marks the third time in recent years that council has contracted the services of a website designer and

consultant.

“We’ve tried it both ways,” said Councilman Phil Cassella, at council’s July 26 meeting. “We really paid a good price on one, we went to the one that was bare bones, and (the website) is still not working.”

Council engaged in discussion at several meetings during the summer trying to agree on the most important criteria in selecting the latest new website designer and consultant. Some of the attributes mentioned included ongoing support to village officials in updating and operating the website; prompt and effective customer service when website problems arise; and the creativity to design a website that’s attractive, easy to navigate, and useful to village residents or others seeking information about the community and its government.

In an effort to get answers to any outstanding questions from contractors who submitted proposals, council invited three of the bidders to the Aug. 23 meeting to make presentations. Besides Lake Metro Web, council also heard from representatives of Fabulous Frog Web Development and Services of Mentor and independent contractor David Whittaker of Perry Township.

Mayor James Gessic said council settled on Lake Metro Web as the best choice after hearing more about the company’s background in website development and its technical expertise.

Lake Metro Web has been a website services provider in Northeast Ohio for more than 25 years, owner Jerry Spradlin stated in his proposal to the village.

“Originally known as GMS Designs, Lake Metro currently serves the travel and tourism industry, small- to medium-size businesses, associations, fraternal organizations, doctors’ practices, builders, attorneys, e-commerce (businesses) and independent family movie theaters,” he wrote.

In regard to customer service, Spradlin stated that he or other Lake Metro Web employees are “always available by phone, text or email for updates or assistance.”

“This includes all weekends, holidays and evenings,” he wrote.

Lake Metro Web’s contract with the village calls for a $2,500 one-time fee for new web design, $240 a year for web hosting, and $25 an hour for website maintenance.

Gessic said it’s estimated that Lake Metro Web will complete its redesign of the village’s website and have it up and running in two to three weeks.