I’ve been using south Salt Lake County city websites so much that I decided to host an impromptu city website contest! Part one (Bluffdale, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, and Granite) is here. Now, we’ll check out Herriman, Midvale, Murray, and Riverton’s city websites.
Herriman – http://www.herriman.org/
Features: Info about all city departments; City government info; volunteer opportunities; agendas; weather; links to social sites.
The large picture at the top of Herriman’s page slides across for a series of four different pictures. Unlike commercial sites that utilize this modern design, the images don’t seem to have any real purpose. The Herriman site is pretty well fleshed out. To me some of the categories seemed a little weird; city government and departments seem like they would belong as part of the same section. The calendar does not contain much of anything. Herriman seems to be a really “up and coming” city. I think Herriman’s website is quite useful, but there is some room for improvement and better organization. For instance, if you want to license your dog, there is information available, and a link to Salt Lake County, but no form to download on the Herriman site.
Overall: 4 stars. Design is sleek and modern, but city officials should try to make the site something that is helpful to people instead of just showing off city stuff.
Midvale – http://www.midvalecity.org/
“In the Middle of Everything”
Features: Government and departments sections; Business info; Community and visitors sections. Includes information about schools, court, community programs, etc; calendar; online payments.
The Midvale website also has a modern design, with pictures that slide across the screen. Site organization is quite good. Some of the information pages could use more information, but in most cases where information is lacking, there is a link to another site. This site seems to have useful things that people would actually look for and want from a city website. Nice job, Midvale City.
Overall: 4.5 stars. Sometimes it seems like space is not used really well, but generally this website looks nice and has good information.
Murray – http://www.murray.utah.gov/
“There’s More to Murray”
Features: Online bill pay; very updated calendar info; easy to report a concern or follow on social networks; info about services, community, government, and departments.
Holy moly, Murray! I’m impressed! Like many modern websites, Murray city’s site features a large picture that slides across the screen to rotate through a series of pictures. But, on other sites the large photo is somewhat irrelevant, and it takes up most of the screen when you first visit the site. Murray’s site has a modern look, while making it very easy to navigate and use the site. At the top of the site you can access “Services” “Community” “Government” or “Departments”, just like many of the other city sites have…but what sets Murray apart from the others is the rest of the design. On the right there is a column of key things that people would visit the site for “Online Bill Pay” “Arts & Recreation” “Report a Concern”, etc. Below all this, it just gets better. There is a “Stay Informed” list of things that are happening, and an “I want to…” column where you can read the mayor’s message, or search job openings, or a variety of other things. Murray’s website is beautiful, and extremely user friendly.
Overall: 5 stars. The front is a little busy, but the short lists in big letters (with appropriate icons!) make it great.
Riverton – http://www.rivertoncity.com/
“Peace, Progress, and Tradition”
Features: Contact info in a prominent place; “Citizen service request”; link to Twitter; newsletters available online; updated calendar; road condition info; online utility payments; links to many resources; e-mail subscriptions.
Riverton’s City website is not as sleek and modern as some of the other city sites, but in some ways that is nice because a picture does not consume most of the front screen, and the movement of modern sites can be somewhat distracting. Riverton provides a lot of information, including current newsletters. The newsletters are fun to read! They are beautiful, and they provide a lot of great information about what is going on in the city. From the newsletters you get the idea that Riverton is a great place to live–they have a ton of activities. The mayor messages are fantastic.
Overall: 4 stars. There is room for improvement here, but you’ll be able to find most things you’re looking for on Riverton’s site.
All right, folks. We just have one more installment of city website reviews! Stay tuned for a look at city websites from Sandy, South Jordan, Taylorsville, West Jordan, and White City. Then it will be time to wrap this contest up and choose some winners.
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