Getting business done online should be a lot easier for residents using the City of Chelsea’s revamped website.
Last week, the city unveiled the new municipal website at chelseama.gov, a move that has been in the works for some time, according to Chelsea Communication and Community Outreach Manager Lourdes Alvarez. The new site is brighter, more visually appealing, and easier to navigate.
“The project has been in the works for quite awhile, we were thinking of redoing the website before the pandemic,” said Alvarez. “We are finally happy that we can announce the new website.”
One of the main goals of the website redesign was to make it more organized for the needs of residents who use it.
The drop-down menus at the top of the site link to city departments, government boards, and community organizations. There is also a drop-down menu that gives residents easy access to apply for permits, pay city bills, and access the city’s 311 system.
“There’s also a new, color-coded calendar that can be sorted by board or committee, or you can see all events,” said Alvarez.
The website also just plain looks better than the older site, which went with a basic blue and white color scheme familiar to anyone who has scrolled through more than two or three city or town websites.
The updated chelseama.gov pops with a dark blue, red, and yellow color scheme, and the news and announcements section now has photos that relate to the articles and updates.
“The last website did not have a lot of color, we wanted to have this one more aligned with the graphic identity of the city,” said Alvarez.
Alvarez said residents should look for frequent updates to the news and announcements section, and also noted that links at the bottom of the homepage give quick access to some of the biggest initiatives in the city, including American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, small business initiatives in the city, city finance data, and the Discover Chelsea tourism initiative
The new site was designed by Revize, a company that specializes in the design or redesign of municipal websites across the country. Funding for the website redesign was approved by the City Council in the city’s capital improvement budget.
“We are trying to improve ways for residents to interact effectively with the city,” said City Manager Thomas Ambrosino. “We’ve needed an upgrade to the website, and the City Council was behind it and helpful in approving funding in the capital budget.”