New websites boost Pierce County’s online services

News Release

www.piercecountywa.org

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New websites boost Pierce County’s online services

Pierce County launched a major redesign of three websites on Thursday, Nov. 15, that significantly upgrades the public's ability to stay informed about programs and services. The sites offer new tools and features that improve the user experience, including the ability to sign up for email or text message updates. The sites also were reorganized to make it easier for users to quickly find relevant information. The biggest redesign involved the county's main site, www.piercecountywa.org. A team of county employees representing a cross-section of departments evaluated the needs of the county's content management system and website, which logs 3 million unique visitors, 9 million visits and more than 100 million pageviews a year. Here are some highlights from the upgrade to the county’s main site: •        A “How Do I” button provides quick access to common requests from customers. •        The revamped global navigation at the top of the page offers a mix of departments, programs and services in user-friendly categories. •        Contact information is clear and consistent throughout the site. •        The new website offers tools that organize and present information in reader-friendly ways, such as FAQs, Quick Links to other resources, news, etc. This enabled the county to eliminate about 1,000 pages from the current site so users can find content faster. •        The new home page showcases Pierce County’s beauty while promoting important services and programs. New sites for Family Justice Center and Pierce County TV Pierce County also hosts the websites for two affiliated organizations: the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center (www.aplaceofhelp.org) and Pierce County TV (www.piercecountytv.org). Both agencies also switched to the new system and got modern redesigns. Pierce County is contracting with CivicPlus to host the sites. CivicPlus manages websites for more than 1,000 government clients and has demonstrated expertise in the area of online content management for public agencies. The CivicPlus system replaces a 10-year-old system that was built by programmers in Pierce County's Information Technology Department. Pierce County plans to conduct a survey of users around the end of the year. In the meantime, users who have immediate questions or comments can contact pccomments@co.pierce.wa.us.