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Politics & Government

City of Arnold's New Website Is Easier To Use

Changes recommended by website visitors include aesthetics and navigation improvements.

Arnold City Administrator Matt Unrein said the city has revamped its website to make it more user-friendly.

“The website was getting kind of cluttered,” Unrein said.

“We had buttons and documents and quick links and hot links all over the place. We really needed to clean it up.”

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Unrein said the new website is clean and professional looking, making it easier for residents and visitors to the city to find what they are looking for.

Deion Christopher, the city’s information technology manager, said most of the changes were based on visitors’ suggestions and are designed to make the website more aesthetically appealing and easier to navigate.

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Christopher said part of the redesign involved reordering the navigation pane on the left side of the screen.

The city’s old website listed departments in order of those most commonly used, but Christopher said visitors to the website found that to be difficult to navigate. On the new website, departments are listed alphabetically.

“It was cumbersome, especially when you didn’t know what you were looking for,” Christopher said. “Now, it’s in alphabetical order, so it’s a lot easier.”

The navigation tools on the right side of the screen have also been divided into boxes to clearly delineate different announcements and links. 

“It makes it more aesthetically pleasing and makes it clear that you are going from one box to the next,” Christopher said. “It just makes it easier to read.”

The new site also combines the recreation center and community calendars and retains previous events in searchable format for those who want to look up past entries.

“The rec center used to have their own calendar of events. That was sort of cumbersome to update the master community calendar and then make sure we had the same calendar for the rec center,” Christopher said. “Everything now is primarily under the community calendar.”

Other changes include new page banners, new photos and a fixed-screen display that appears the same regardless of what size monitor on which the website is viewed.

Christopher said future changes will include the addition of more visual elements to make the website more appealing.

Feedback on the changes from city employees and visitors to the website has been positive, Christopher said.

“They like the look and feel and the colors,” Christopher said. “And they find it easier to use.”

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