CITY OF RENO NEWS RELEASE
The city of Reno launched a redesigned website in support of the City Council’s priority to increase communication and community engagement. It is part of an effort to put Reno on the map as one of the most innovative and citizen-focused cities in the nation. This is the largest redesign to the city of Reno website in seven years.
Deanna Gescheider, director of communications and community engagement, says, “One of the main goals for the website redesign is to encourage citizen engagement by our residents. We designed this website with the citizen in mind.” “It is our hope that citizens will visit our website and become inspired to participate with their neighborhood, community and city government,” she said.
There are a number of design features that positively alter both the look and usability of the website. The most obvious is an enhanced search feature in the middle of the homepage. The purpose of this feature is to allow citizens to easily search and discover pages of interest directly from the homepage. Another feature is the photographs taken by residents that fill the backdrop of the entire site. This is an interactive way to keep the website looking fresh while encouraging citizens to engage with the city.
To promote more communication among diverse populations in the city, the new Spanish translation feature allows for quick and easy translation of Reno.gov content.
The city is supporting the Biggest Little City movement with an icon on the right side of the homepage that directs users to biggestlittlecity.org. The purpose of this partnership is to encourage and support a collection of positive, personal stories and creative content about citizens who work, live and play in the Reno community.
The city of Reno has also partnered with the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) to add two new features targeted toward visitors. One is a comprehensive community events calendar that allows both locals and visitors to view events taking place in and around Reno. The second allows visitors to book hotels easily from the Reno.gov website. The goal of this partnership is to provide a one-stop for visitors interested in the region.
Christopher Baum, RSCVA president and CEO, believes the partnership helps to build valuable relationships between local stakeholders who can collectively promote quality of life here in the region.
“The RSCVA is grateful for the opportunity to work with the city of Reno on a project that will help potential visitors and residents learn more about the many unique activities and special events that they can enjoy here in Reno Tahoe USA,” said Baum. “This initiative is a wonderful example of how local stakeholders can work together to promote and improve the quality of life in the region we all love.”
The city’s website vendor, Vision Internet, provided the website’s backend upgrade. The latest backend structure offers powerful management tools for the city’s content editors. Kristoffer von Bonsdorff, project manager at Vision Internet, says the city of Reno website redesign is one of the most innovative he’s seen to date.
“The city of Reno is a great partner and ahead of the curve in adopting cutting edge, private sector technology that will increase transparency and efficiency to better serve citizens,” says Bonsdorff.
The city is currently seeking constructive feedback from citizens on what they like or dislike about the new redesign. Citizens can provide feedback directly from the website by completing the Website Feedback form.
