The Challenge
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a unique community with many appealing features. Above all, the Town's website needed to reflect how it is a special place to live, visit or work. The user interface had to be welcoming, streamlined and easy for all ages to use.
With a growing population of younger families, many older residents, and an impressive tourism sector, the Town's website had to accommodate a diverse group of people. The design of the site needed to be attractive to people of all experiences and leave visitors wanting more while meeting the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) standards.
Additionally, the Town required a more organized way of providing access to information. Due to an increasing amount of development and construction projects, Niagara-on-the-Lake needed an orderly way to showcase ongoing projects (see below). The rest of the website had to reduce clutter, include a menu that made sense, and provide easy ways to tailor relevant information for residents, visitors or businesses.
The Solution
Upanup provided a full website redesign to meet the Town's unique needs. The new website has been designed with a white and blue colour scheme, minimalistic but effective text and powerful imagery throughout. The page layouts contain classy, uncluttered information and quicklink icons that make sense--see an example on the Lord Mayor & Council page.
Overall, the design of the website allows the user to feel connected to the community and the resources it has to offer.
Upanup also included some innovative features in the Town's new website:
- New Project/Initiative Content Type: Upanup created a custom page template for construction projects in the area. This allows residents to view progress and access project information easily.
- ArcGIS Integration: Ability to view the aforementioned project/initiatives on a user-controlled map, providing context for website visitors.
- Homepage Content Sections: Ability to toggle between resident, visitor or business to view relevant quicklinks, connecting specific individuals with the resources they need.
The Results
The new municipal website received very positive feedback from staff and users and won a Vega Centauri Online award for it's unique, classy design. The site was built to meet accessibility mandates, is remarkably user friendly, and flows in an intuitive, organized way.
People from all backgrounds and experiences can now enjoy the benefits Niagara-on-the-Lake has to offer with it's modern website redesign.