This past week, a crew from the City of Riverbank could be seen around town, videotaping segments to be featured on the city’s website.
The short pieces are intended to show visitors to the site positive things available here to both residents and visitors.
A videographer from CGI Communications of Rochester, New York, visited locations in town to shoot his segments on Tuesday and Wednesday, accompanied by city administrative assistant Norma Torres-Manriquez. On Tuesday, they stopped by the Riverbank Historical Museum, shooting both exteriors and interior shots of photographs and other items on display.
The city’s new website debuted in mid-June.
It is an updated, modernized version of its website, http://www.riverbank.org, which hadn’t been revised for nearly 10 years.
Back in November, 2014, the council approved an expenditure from reserves to pay a Kansas City company, CivicPlus, for development of the new website, intranet design and hosting services.
The design of the new site was approved to keep up with changes that have occurred in how websites operate, including newer browser specifications and the addition of Internet use by smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices. The old city website did not display or operate well on those newer devices.
Since November, the implementation of the website was to have been developed in five stages: needs assessment, design feedback, design presentation, a functional website, and staff training, then going live.
All areas of the city’s new website are not yet fully functional, with many areas still under development.
The website update is intended to meet a goal the council set at its March 2014 Strategic Planning Workshop to overhaul the digital face the city presents to citizens. A total of $11,000 was allocated for the project, coming from reserves, with the following two years’ expenditures being included in upcoming budgets.
When completed, the council is expecting a website that is user/visitor friendly, with the modern design, a well-organized layout for easy navigation and ease of accessibility to important city information. It is expected to integrate the latest web technological advances, coupled with an easy to use content management system so city employees can keep website pages up to date. Also, it will include an improved online payment system for residents.
At the foot of most pages are links to the city’s new Facebook, YouTube and Instagram channels.
