According to a news release from the City the new design is a result of several months of fact-finding, benchmarking, research, focus groups, testing and translating.
Chief among the changes is the grouping of information by service or topic, rather than by City department. This is important since, for example, residents looking for building inspection may not know to look in the Development Services Department page. This often led to frustration and numerous calls to City Hall. Grouping information by services or topic allows for residents to navigate the site intuitively, rather than organizationally and promises to improve the overall satisfaction of the users.
The new format for the front (home) page highlights important news and community events, and includes an expanded quick reference section to allow easy access to the most requested services and information.
The new Comprehensive Services section allows for site visitors to find important and frequently sought service offerings, and gives residents quick entry to those service delivery departments. In addition, there are new sections dedicated to Community, Business, and Visitor interests.
A new section called Dallas Kids brings all the educational information from across all the City departments in to one easy-to-reference section.
As before, the web site is completely mirrored in Spanish.
The current redesign is part of a larger effort that will conclude with more changes by years end. The City says comments from residents are welcome.
