Lansdale.org website update nearly ready
Search bar, pinned buttons featured on its new design
LANSDALE » A new look for Lansdale borough’s website is nearly complete.
Borough Communication Coordinator Tracy Flynn reported last week that an update to the borough’s website Lansdale.org could go live as soon as next week, and staff are looking for feedback.
“We went through the user surveys and through all of the analytics, trying to see what it is people are using our site for. Anything to make it more accessible,” Flynn said.
“I hate to use the term ‘user-friendly,’ because that all depends on the user, but it is more intuitive now,” she said.
The town’s website long featured a simplistic design dating back to the 1990s, with dozens of topics listed in a single column on the left-hand side of the page, until a revamp was overseen by design firm CivicPlus in 2013, and the new site went live in February 2014. As part of that contract, according to Flynn, CivicPlus agreed to revisit the site and make modifications after three years, and an internal borough steering committee has produced a new version ready to go public.
Flynn showed off a demonstration version of the updated website during the borough’s Economic Development Committee meeting on July 31, noting two features that visitors will notice right away: artwork showing various sites around town is now properly proportioned instead of stretched to fit the site, and a search bar is now prominently featured in the center of the home page instead of a corner.
“If you go there, and don’t know anything about what you’re looking for, it is right on the home page and you can search,” Flynn said.
Drop-down “mega menus” featuring the headers of government, departments, living and visiting, doing business, and “How do I...” are now pinned to the top of the home page, and icons are now pinned to the left sidebar indicating where visitors can pay bills, learn more about parks and recreation, find info on upcoming events, and access agendas and minutes.
“These are the ones that, when we did the survey, are for things that are most commonly used. No matter where you go on the pages, you will have these,” Flynn said.
EDC members pointed out various small changes they would like to see with the preliminary layout of the new site, including a discussion on whether items listed under the drop-down menus should be listed alphabetically or in order of how often they’re used.
“If you’re looking for something specific, and they are alphabetical, you will find it faster,” said EDC member Richard Strahm.
Flynn said she was glad to see the color scheme of the website changed from a grey and orange background on the current site to a sharper blue and white based on the borough’s branding efforts over the last several years.
“I think it looks great, and I do like that it feels easier to see everything. It’s bigger,” said committee member Denton Burnell.
Each borough department is currently vetting the site for any last-minute changes or additions, and Flynn said her goal is to have the new site design live on or around Aug. 13. Changes will still be possible afterward, and all current outside links or bookmarks referring to addresses on the current site should carry over to the new one.
One other minor change will be noticeable before users even open the site: Strahm asked if the “Favicon” indicating the home page on a browser’s bookmarks bar would change from the red and black “CP” logo of CivicPlus, and Flynn said it will: a blue and white Lansdale-L logo will appear instead.
“It does what we need it to do, and I think it looks nice. It’s easy to navigate, there are some things that need to be fixed, but we’re working on it,” Flynn said.