No matter how you view the City of Pickering website, the City would benefit from your doing their survey to give them feedback about user who have used/visited their website.
The BAD
Users of the website complain endlessly about the website, enough that the City has undertaken a website redesign, the launching of which is still unknown.
The complaints against the current website are valid and spot on. The website is overly complicated. Finding information is more than a challenge, in some instances, impossible. Contact phone numbers are unavailable, as if the contact persons are to be kept hidden. Too many menus. No site map. No short cuts to previous page, home page. The list goes on…so far on that many users quit the site before finding what they need.
The UGLY
The absolute worst factor about the new website project is the cost, $900,000. Whoever vetted this fee missed the boat. In fact, they likely are under the boat, drawing in incompetence. Even a cursory examination of corporate websites will reveal that annual costs for design, modification and maintenance of a website are in the range of $50,000 to $250,000 with the latter amount seen as very high. Pickering goes above and beyond to nearly a million dollars. There is no possible way to justify that extreme amount. Saying that cost is preposterous is an understatement. Some body ‘really profited’ by that fee.
The GOOD
The Good associated with the City’s website is that the City listened and is responding to the lamentations and criticism resident users have made. Not only has the City undertaken modifications but it is even surveying users’ input to possible changes. That is what should be done. Ask the users what they think and respond to them. Most certainly, the new city website will be a positive and constructive improvement of today’s site.
However, the City needs all the feedback it can get. So every resident user of the website should respond to the survey request. Let them know what you think, what you find good and what you think should be changed. Those responses will be heeded. They better be given the cost of the project.
Give the City your comments about the current website at SURVEY
