To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Fritz Sprague, Deputy Town Manager
Karen Carter, Community Relations Manager
Jennifer Jaeger, Chief Technology Officer, DoIT
Title
Presentation: Launch of New CRgov.com Website
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Executive Summary
CRgov.com is the Town of Castle Rock’s award-winning, flagship communication tool. It’s a one-stop shop for residents and visitors to find information on just about anything related to the Town - events, news, Townwide projects, local development projects, roadwork, maps, parks, trails and facilities - as well as links to our community partners.
With the same overarching theme of transparency the site has always had, CRgov.com will soon have a fresh look. In October, we will launch a new and revised CRgov.com.
The website garners an average 50,000 unique visitors each month. Users can also connect to the Town’s social media and Town Council meeting agendas or videos.
Beyond hosting information, the site also reaches residents and visitors in their inboxes, with a subscriber base of up to 8,000 people. Subscribers can receive information ranging from events and news to development updates.
Coming and going, CRgov.com is the strategic tool that delivers our messages to the community.
In redesigning CRgov.com, we set a number of goals, including: updating the overall user experience; making navigation easier and more efficient; creating a new look and feel that embraces Castle Rock’s beauty; and amplifying our mobile connection.
To accomplish those goals, Town staff analyzed current online visits to determine how people utilize the website. Staff researched other websites and looked at areas on our own for improvement. Staff met with community members and asked for feedback.
The result was updated global navigation that is easier to use and better connects users with the information they are seeking. We added clear graphics and icons that will connect visitors to the information they want. Some of the new icons lead the user to their water bill, videos, parks and rec information or roadwork project tracking. We also added sections that focus on our services, events and community character.
Then, we updated the look and feel to a more useable and modern, yet beautiful and streamlined, design.
We are excited to provide this preview to the new CRGov.com and welcome your feedback.