TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — After a year of work, Terre Haute residents will now be greeted with a new layout when they visit the city website.
Mayor Brandon Sakbun said the old website was outdated and difficult to navigate.
“You need to have accessible information, regardless of folks’ challenges online”, Sakbun said. “You need to be transparent. I think we’ve fixed a lot of what the previous website simply could not do. It was made in the mid-2000s and frankly, we needed a refresh.”
Monday, city officials held a presentation showing off the new website’s capabilities.
Website Administrator Brandon Bland said people will first notice the visuals, but the city’s focus was on efficiency.
“I think just the ability to get to where they’re going with maybe a few less clicks”, Bland said. “The overall design is a lot nicer, aesthetically pleasing when you come to the website. It’s just a lot easier to get to where you’re going.”
Mayor Sakbun said the new website will also help to save money.
“From an IT standpoint, we’ve taken on a lot of those tasks, which will lower our operational costs with service providers long-term, so there is a cost savings proponent to this”, Sakbun said.
Sakbun said it could also catch the eye of people looking to take a trip or join the Terre Haute community.
“This is the front door to our community, people get on there looking for information”, Sakbun said. “It’s not just paying a sewage bill, it’s how do you build in the city of Terre Haute, what is there to do. We’ve got a number of links that send viewers to our community partners as well. I think at the end of the day, we needed to step into the 21st century.”
The city will soon be looking for feedback on the new website.
If you want to visit the website, you can find it here.
