Town's New Website Is User-Focused

If you need a new blue recycle bin, do you know where to get one? With the town's new website, that answer should be easier to find.

The website, unveiled a week ago, lists "services" instead of "departments." That's because, according to IT manager Wendy Schmidle, many residents "would not know who to call and where to go to get a new recycling bin."

So, on the new website, the first tab after "About East Greenwich" is "Town Services." Under that tab, you'll find links to such things as trash pickup and recycling (spoiler alert: you'll find info about getting a new blue bin here), parks & recreation, senior services, and public safety. 

The old website listed the "Town Canvasser"; the new website lists "Voter registration and elections."

"We really focused on the questions residents would be asking," said Schmidle. She worked with Town Clerk Leigh Botello and former Executive Assistant Elaine Colarusso, which was a big help. Botello used to be executive assistant to Bill Sequino, Colarusso held that job until she left two months ago. 

Sitting in that chair, Schmidle said, you are the focal point for many resident questions.

"So it was very helpful having them on the project team because they understood that the content really had to be outwardly facing," she said. "It was kind of a good exercise for Elaine, Leigh, and I because we had to wrap our heads around how Joe Resident thinks."

She continued, "It’s easy for the people who work in town to say, 'Oh yeah, for building permits, you need to go see Audrey Bartolomeo over in Public Works.' Well, Joe Resident doesn’t know that. That was really the focus of the website, which is why it’s designed by service as opposed to by department."

The website was designed by Embolden, a Pawtucket company that specializes in nonprofit website design, at a cost of about $15,000. 

"They gave us a wire frame and we kind of filled it in," Schmidle said. 

"We also wanted a webpage that we could point the community to, and say 'Ok, if you’re looking for something, it’s on our webpage.'"

That said, Schmidle's spending time now checking to make sure all the page links lead to the right place. 

Check it out – click here. If there's a dead link there somewhere, let Wendy know: wschmidle@eastgreenwichri.com. And if there are things you like about it, let her know that too.