Richardson’s newly re-designed website has earned the top award from the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) for website design in a community with a population less than 100,000. The award was presented recently during TAMIO’s annual conference held in Round Rock.
Design enhancements for Richardson’s new website began in February 2011, and the new site was unveiled in March 2012. Its creation was aligned with the Richardson City Council’s Statement of Goals, which aims to improve citywide communications, increase transparency in government operations, market community assets and encourage public involvement.
“We have worked hard for the past few years to keep up with technological changes to make sure we utilize all the methods we can to keep people informed,” said Mayor Bob Townsend. “This latest honor from the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers means a great deal to us because it shows we’re not only keeping up, but we are even helping to set the bar for effective municipal communications strategies.”
Richardson has had a long history in being on the forefront of electronic communications. The City of Richardson’s website, launched in 1991, was the first municipal website in the state of Texas. It has grown to be the primary portal people use to interact with city services, which is what made a redesign of the site such a high priority with the City Council.
One of the top objectives in the design process was making sure the new website was accessible to mobile users and met users’ desire to connect with city services through their mobile devices. To meet that need, the City’s new website can recognize when it is being accessed by a mobile device and provides an easy-to-use menu system for smart phones.
The new website design also features quick action buttons on the City’s homepage and on several city departments’ landing pages to allow easy access to the City’s most used services.
About TAMIO
TAMIO is an affiliate of the Texas Municipal League, which represents some 98% of Texas’ urban population through its more than 1,000 member cities and towns. Organized in 1913 as an information association of 14 municipalities, TML today is a progressive, multi-million dollar enterprise offering a wide variety of services to Texas cities.