Government websites can be useful tools if they are well designed, simple and easy for the public to navigate. However, that is rarely the case. According city officials, those of us living in Philadelphia may get the chance to help change that.
The City of Philadelphia announced Tuesday that it’s conducting a comprehensive redesign of its website and would like input from the public. That means instead of designing the website from their own assumptions, city officials will start with the needs of its neighbors – the residents of Philadelphia.
“We’re trying to design a website that is award winning, but is intent driven,” Adel Ebeid, the city’s Chief Innovation Officer, told the Philadelphia Business Journal, adding that users should be able to find what they’re looking for in “three clicks or less.”
How can you share our input? It’s simple. All you have to do is use the site alpha.phila.gov to browse the website’s first prototype and leave feedback. The site gives users an opportunity to voice their opinions of the new layout and features by clicking “provide feedback” at the top of the Web page. It also gives city officials the ability to build the website out in the open, instead of behind closed doors.
One thing to remember is that this is an experimental prototype, a work in progress. It’s missing content. Parts of it are confusing. The design needs work. And that’s the point. The city wants to start here, even though it’s not perfect, so that it can continually make the website better. The goal is to show residents where the site is starting and allow them to follow its progress. As they get feedback, they will start to move into the “beta” phase – which will be to ensure that the ideas are considered and start implementing those that make the most sense.
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