An Ontario company has been awarded a contract to redesign the city's website.
The eSolutions Group, one of seven companies that submitted proposals, will carry out the work for $124,300, the city said in a press release issued Monday.
Headquartered in Waterloo, the company has worked with more than 250 municipalities across Canada.
Work will begin early in the new year with an with an online survey and interviews with site users, city staff, and council members.
"It's important to engage members of the public with different interests and abilities when designing a municipal website," said eSolutions president Karen Mayfield. "We do research and conduct focus groups to better understand the public's needs and wants, and from there we formulate a plan to develop a website that works well for that community."
Goals for the redesign, as outlined in the city's request for proposals, include:
- A clean, intuitive, visually appealing web design that promotes the city;
- Simplified navigation for quick and easy access to information and services;
- Enhanced functionality related to such services as online payments, pothole reporting, PG Map, and events;
- Improved accessibility for the widest possible audience regardless of technology or ability including screen-reading software used by the visually impaired;
- Responsive web design for use on all device platforms, including tablets and mobile phones.
"The work we do together to update the city website will enhance the presentation of our community and improve access to city services and information," said city external relations director Rob van Adrichem. "Council identified the need for a new website in 2015 and we will be pursuing this project through 2016 with an eye to launching the new site in mid-2017."
