"New features and the new look are part of the plan to make the site easier for Iowans and out-of-state visitors to use," according to John Gillispie, chief operating officer of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Information Technology Enterprise (ITE). Traffic is heavy: Almost 10 million total hits were logged in December 2003 alone. Site redevelopers did their homework, analyzing other state sites and holding focus groups across Iowa. Users will see changes on new pages that organize services into easier-to-understand user categories like education, business and economic development, public safety, health and human services, and visiting Iowa. Better search tools are provided. A new "ask a librarian" function run by the State Library Commission offers customized research and answers to specific questions by e-mail. More pictures of scenic Iowa were used, a response to requests to showcase more of what Iowa really looks like outside its capital city.
Gillispie hopes the redesign will make it easier for Iowans to use the state's online "e-government" tools, which have become increasingly popular since the state's first Internet site was launched in 1998. "Pages for online job applications, tax filing and court records are among the busiest," he said. "Winter weather drives people to education and the Department of Transportation sites for information about school closings and road condition reports."
Web redesign architect Iowa Interactive points out that users should be able to use the new features without sacrificing page-loading time, a key factor for those with older computers and slower connections. They note that, per capita, rural Iowans use e-government services at the same rate as more urban areas.
Quelle: Business Wire, 23.02.2004
