Bristol City Council has worked with a number of local tech businesses to re-design its website which it claims is now much easier to use and improves dramatically its service to residents.
The site – http://www.bristol.gov.uk – has a number of new features:
• An improved navigation system and better search engine, powered by Google.
• Quick links to pay, apply and report online.
• A postcode-driven application My Neighbourhood section with local information such as maps, planning applications and facilities
Only the most popular pages have been taken over from the old site.
The new site is seen as a key way of making savings. The cost to the council of an online transaction averages 40p against £4.62 over the phone and £7.03 face-to-face. The council aim is to increase the number of residents using self-service including online from 15% to 40% by 2012/13.
The new site’s budget averages £160,000 a year over five years, including design, development, migration of content and ongoing support.
The development team behind the site talked to some of the city’s digital companies on the best approach and decided to use the Drupal open-source content management system.
Drupal saves on licensing costs and is a fast-developing product that gives future flexibility. The team will be working with some of these local companies over the coming months on further improvements.
Council leader Barbara Janke said: “Bristol is widely recognised for its strong media, creative and digital economy. But for a city with such a strong record, the council’s website was outdated and cluttered with far too much information that had built up over time.
“The new site should be much more user-friendly, and include easier ways to pay, apply and report online, which will be developed further over the next few years.”
