Communications and Tourism Director, Catiel Felts, said the City received more than a dozen bids on the project before choosing FullMedia of Gainesville to spearhead the effort.
"The last time we created a new website was 2000, so this was long overdue. We were very pleased to be able to hire a local company who knew Gainesville and its citizens. FullMedia has given us a site we can be proud of and one that will compete with the best government sites out there," Felts said.
Chief Executive Officer for FullMedia, Kris Nordholz, said they identified three goals for the City's website.
"We wanted to make it more visually appealing, create a content management system that would give the City almost full control of the site and most importantly, keep the end user in mind," said Nordholz. "We are extremely honored to have worked with the City of Gainesville on this project. Being a native of Gainesville, and now a husband and father raising children here, I feel that I have a vested interest in the success of this effort. We all know how much Gainesville has to offer, and I'm proud that the City is committed to effectively using technology to communicate with its citizens and other interested audiences."
The new website features a website within a website for visitors and tourism, interactive forms and City surveys. The site also enables viewers to watch government meetings on TV18, The Government Channel.
Felts added, "We are also in the process of developing a social media strategy. We know how important it is to communicate with the community and look forward to revealing our new Facebook page soon."
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http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/12/234349