New Council Website

It is with much expectation that the Council has released a beta version of the new Council website which will serve the towns (or City) for half a decade.

It is probably a topic much ignored by a number of those who care not for the internet, but in reality this forum will become the only major contact between Council and citizen in terms of paying bills, joining the electoral register and registering a complaint or service issue.

Medway Council need you to tell them what you think of it. They have released a beta site which we would like you to test drive with the following questions in mind:

Is it easy to use?

Can you find what you are looking for?

Do you like ir or dislike it and why?

Why beta?

Every website needs to be tested by users before it launches. If there are parts of the site that you find difficult to use, please tell them and they will try to fix them before launch. They want you to fully explore the site and tell them what works for you and what doesn't.

The site has cost the Medway Council tax payer a combined sum of £250,000 according to Council budgets. This is therefore a major project which will need support, irrelevant of whether you agreed with the original spend.

This blog is a fan of e-government and indeed it is topic which comes close to the heart of this blogger. Good public websites can drive down cost and drive up public accountability and scrutiny of publicly elected officials. It is the reason why this blogger would video Council meetings to ensure public accountability. It is reason why this blogger has encouraged all the political groups to embrace twitter, blogs and websites. Though all parties, including Labour, need to improve.

I would ask the Council to use the proper Medway logo in the html box (are we re-branding?) and seek to use videos as much as possible. The service boxes are sensible and show where to pay council tax and fines. The site looks presentable and friendly. It could link in with other apps - perhaps train, bus timetables and/or services from National Government - DirectGov services etc.

In all some manager somewhere needs to feel quite pleased with themselves. It is a massive improvement on the current site which is laughable.

The site is in beta because it isn't finished yet. There are features missing, the content isn't all in yet and some things may not work 100 per cent. The Council are still working on the site but are keen to ask for your thoughts as soon as possible so that they have time to improve things.

There are a few new features that you might want to test out:

Find my nearest - location based services, tailored to your postcode;

Search box - we've invested in this so that you can find your information quickly and easily;

Top tabs - whatever you want to do, get it done quickly;

Navigation - search by who you are or what you want to do.

This blog supports the development of new websites which serve the public and increase transparency. It has to be said that the website looks pretty good. Whether it is worth a £250,000 at a time of fiscal austerity. We will wait and see the live version before making a judge on that.