Site to offer data-driven design for accessible, responsive, & efficient service
Mayor Jorge O. Elorza today announced the City of Providence has launched www.Providenceri.gov, a user-centered government website enhancing access to municipal services, resources, schedules, and important department information for residents, businesses and visitors of the capital city. The website introduces an interactive and mobile-friendly design that generates top website functions for visitors determined through data collection, offers an “I want to” feature to easily guide constituents to points of interest, and uses assistive technology to better align with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
“This website is designed with the end-user in mind and takes into account the specific needs of Providence residents, business owners, and visitors,” said Mayor Elorza. “This is yet another step we are taking to make sure Providence is a city that works for everyone through accessible, responsive, and innovative government.”
The launch of website, which was created by Rhode Island based Figmints Delicious Design and Creative Marketing, LLC, is the first for the City since 2012. It features a platform for every City department, which has content reflecting user analytics for top functions sought by visitors on the older website. That data was used to ensure that such functions are front and center for the user upon visiting.
The previous City website which did not offer a mobile-friendly design, averaged close to 100,000 users per month, with use peaking during tax season, inclement weather conditions, and major city events. Concentrating on usability, the new site’s layout automatically adjusts its size and adapts to a user’s device, from mobile phone to a full-sized monitor. Additionally, an alert feature has enabled a function on each webpage to notify the public of important news including approaching tax deadlines, events, school and road closures, and ongoing emergency situations.
Currently the site offers preferred language options in English, Khmer, Portuguese, and Spanish taking into account City and Providence Public School District demographics. The City also has the ability to integrate additional languages in the future.
The new website also offers a centralized calendar for City events, an optimized PVD311 webpage design to connect to and request city services from the Mayor’s Center for City Services, and will continue to serve as a gateway for residents to pay parking tickets and tax bills online, view public notices and records, download city documents and application forms, and more.