Requirement:
The City of Twentynine Palms approached Shark Studios to design an attractive and useful community gateway to the City of Twentynine Palms and surrounding area. The new site was to have city information for the ease and convenience of the public. The site needed to be easily updatable by non-technical city staff. It also needed to provide information about the city government and target the unique needs of visitors, residents and businesses. For residents, it should have listings of utilities, churches, service clubs, recreation classes, a community calendar, and uploads of city policy documents like the annual budget and the city’s general plan. Long term, it needed to enable users to access city services and to use online forms over the internet.


Solutions:
The new site architecture reflects a user-centered approach using an intuitive design and drop down navigational structure that encourages users to browse and quickly find the information they need.  A Content Management System was incorporated to allow non-technical City Staff to add or change site content using a simple browser with internet connection anytime, anywhere. Permissions restrict updates by city staff to only those areas of the site they have been assigned. Work Flow features allow managers or supervisors to preview and approve content prior to publication on the web as well as to track assigned tasks. Site content can now be revised automatically based on preset dates associated with content elements. A Visitor Tracking System (VTS) will allow management to track page hits and traffic flow throughout the site, allowing them to gauge public interest in key areas and modify site content accordingly. Version control easily allows rollback to previous website versions in part or in full.  Online forms, City and Planning Commission Agendas, Minutes and Reports were also made available.  A flash movie was developed for visual effect as well as added site stickiness. This state-of-the-art system will allow the city to keep the community better informed with more timely and relevant information related to local government as well as issues and events surrounding the City of Twentynine Palms area.


Results:
The final result is a site that is easy to navigate, visually appealing as well as allowing non-technical city staff to manage site content themselves. The site serves as the official site for Twentynine Palms City Government as well as an information portal to tourism in the area.


What our client says:
"As we began to plan our City website we visited dozens of others on the web. There was little there that spoke to the character of the cities we visited. They seemed much the same with accumulations of unthought data. Our goal was to develop a website that reflected our city’s serene and deep life…  a website as unique, scenic, interesting, open and friendly as our community is.  We wanted it to serve our public, serve our visitors and by image state our identity.  We wanted it to reflect our desert landscape, our pioneer traditions and the diverse and dynamic community we live in.  Everywhere we look in Twentynine Palms we find beauty and meaning and the desert has deep secrets.

Shark Studios understood our desire from the beginning, and as we began to prepare the core elements and find suitable organization for our site, our friends at Shark Studios advised us as to what was possible, challenged themselves, gave us alternatives and choices and devoted themselves to our project.  They exceeded our expectations.  I recommend them to the prospective client who wants someone to reach beyond with them."

- Michael Swigart, City Manager, City of Twentynine Palms
 

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