White Rock New City Website Announced January 2012

White Rock Matters - New Community [city] Website Announced - Jan. 2012 White Rock, BC January 25, 2012 City of White Rock Announces New Website In November 2011, the City of White Rock launched a new and improved web site and an updated URL www.whiterockcity.ca thanks to the web development firm Atomic Crayon. During the first month online, the web site received 16,144 visits, with over 1,000 visits a day on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20, the day of and following the civic election. “This Council has identified improved civic engagement and external communication as a strategic goal for this term,” said Mayor Wayne Baldwin. “An up-to-date web site is essential in increasing communication within our community.” During the web site’s creation, a heavy emphasis was placed on the site architecture, with the specific goal of making it easy to navigate, with content readily available for residents. Enhancing the design and ease of navigation is the site’s large cascading menu system. This innovative navigation feature complements the beauty of the site’s design while increasing accessibility. The new site boasts increased site functionality with a custom bylaws module, an integrated garbage calendar, Google translation, RSS feeds, a City Spotlight application, user poll functionality and social media integration. “When we embarked on this journey, we wanted to have a website that combined clear communication, design aesthetic and easy navigation,” said Chris Zota, Manager, Information Technology. “Having a modern website can create opportunities in government-to-citizen interaction and position the portal as a critical piece of public service delivery.” Given the demographics in White Rock, accessibility is an important feature of the new site. The site includes a text-resizer, a high-contrast stylesheet and coding standards created for screen readers, all to benefit the visually impaired. The site is also smart phone friendly, so that people using any kind of mobile device will be able to get the most out of the web site. The City of White Rock chose the hosted content management system ElementCMS through Atomic Crayon. This system was chosen to implement the new site due to its robust feature set and numerous customized modules that could be tailored and integrated. This powerful system allows City staff from all departments to update all aspects of the website themselves. The site’s innovative design and beautiful photos reflect the natural beauty that is White Rock. For more information contact: Jamie Leggatt, Communications Coordinator City of White Rock Tel: 604 541 2114 E: jleggatt@whiterockcity.ca