Why Your Local Government Website Should Be a Top Priority

How to Improve Your Local Government Website

Residents increasingly expect fast ways to obtain news and information, conduct business, and communicate with their local government via digital channels. That’s one reason adding advanced resident self-service functionality and two-way communication channels to your local government website is crucial. If the user experience for reporting a fallen power line or paying property taxes is challenging to navigate or clunky, that directly affects resident trust. Community members want to be able to quickly sign up for recreational programs, find out when their recycling gets picked up, and get potholes filled swiftly — all without having to walk into an office or make a phone call.

In 2022, CivicPlus® conducted a survey that found 91% of residents who trust their local government also reported being satisfied with their municipality’s online services and communication. Building a positive civic experience starts with accessible, secure, user-friendly website solutions for local governments. We’ve provided three key aspects to remember as you create a strategy for encouraging higher-quality civic engagement.

Enable Accessibility

An effective website design for local governments begins with digital compliance. Every online user interaction with your administration must follow American Disabilities Act (ADA) laws. Fifteen percent of the global population has a disability that can hinder them from accessing digital services and content. There’s assistive website technology for local governments on the market that offers invaluable tools, including text magnification, voice recognition, and screen reading.

Government websites typically include hundreds of pages of content, from meeting minutes to local ordinances. With so much content to update, it can become challenging to ensure that all that content remains accessible to individuals who use assistive technology to access digital information. Incorporating modern automated accessibility remediation software into your local government website design shows your compliance commitment to your community, plus your municipality can avoid costly penalties and fines for violating ADA guidelines. Accessibility is fundamental to ensuring every resident has a positive civic experience.

Prioritize Local Government Website Cybersecurity

In recent years, cyberattacks on local government websites have increased. Many people think of federal governments when they think of digital attack targets. So, it may be a shock that in 2020, 44% of worldwide ransomware strikes were cyber-attacks on local government websites. One example of a growing risk is a Distributed Denial-of-Service Attack (DDoS). A DDoS attack is when criminals remove or deface a website by overwhelming the server with traffic using multiple devices and IP addresses. If a municipality has a prevention and recovery plan, its website (and subsequent data) can be recovered in the event of a cyberattack.

Residents often must enter sensitive information like credit card information, social security numbers, and home addresses when conducting business with their local government. Your community members deserve to feel safe giving you this data, so cybersecurity must be at the forefront of any website development for local governments. If you lose sensitive data to cyber terrorists, hackers, and ransomware attackers, your government becomes liable for falsified or abused stolen information. Working in government, you understand just how expensive these legal challenges can become. Protect your residents and community by choosing customizable website technology for local government online security.

Enhance User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX)

A resident’s positive experience interacting with their local government website builds trust with the community. Spending time creating a quality website design that’s aesthetically pleasing and practical directly supports that. Investing in website development for local government agencies like the local library and city hall is worth every penny. Community members are more likely to trust your municipal leaders when checking out homeschooling books is seamless and waste management service requests are promptly acknowledged, assigned, and resolved.

It’s valuable that local announcements and ordinances are front and center on the main page. Each local government office should clearly share phone numbers and contact information in an easy-to-find place. Don’t make your residents go on a side quest to find the mayor’s office email address. Investing in website development for local government services takes time and money. Knowing you have a municipal website that is accessible, secure, and user-friendly? That’s timeless and essential to fostering a more positive civic experience.