Kendall County Upgrades Web Site

Kendall County, Texas launched their new web site last week. From the project's inception, we knew we had to deliver a site that was friendly to both the broad audience that would ultimately benefit from it as well as the county staff members who would be updating it.

An Information Resource for the Citizens of Kendall County, Texas

As a government site, the county's website is a repository for everything from courthouse hours to bid postings to advice on how to be prepared in the case of an emergency. That's a lot of content that people need to be able to find quickly and easily.

Solution: We organized the majority of the county's data according to the department or service with which it is associated. By logically naming those sections, we hope to easily direct users to exactly what they're looking for. If looking to contact or learn more about county health inspections, users should navigate to the health inspection department. Simple!

Alternatively, if a user is interested in a county service, such as obtaining a copy of their birth record, they can navigate to "birth certificates" in the Services section. When unsure about what department can assist them, the birth certificate information page will direct them to the related county office. This cross-referencing will likely help reduce confusion among users who may not know which department handles which services.

A Publishing Platform for County Employees

For years, county departments have clamored for the ability to upload their own information to the county's web site. Unfortunately, their legacy web site didn't provide the appropriate user management or content management abilities.

Solution: One of the huge advantages of the county's new website is an intuitive content management system that allows each department to maintain its own page. We took the power to the people and set up user accounts for every department giving them the ability to upload forms, photos or provide links to other resources. User accounts are access controlled as well so a user can't accidentally edit a department page that is not their own.

Wrapped in a clean and simple design, the new Kendall County site provides management flexibility, user-friendly navigation and a powerful resource for citizens and employees to gather and share information. It also provides a framework that can grow and serve citizens of Kendall County for years to come.