City of Dearborn Website Gets Makeover
The City of Dearborn’s official website now has a new look.
Gone is the clumsy 1990s looking website, replaced now with a site that looks and feels much more progressive.
Dearborn's new website is easier to navigate.
We haven’t run through all of the new features but it is much more intuitive and easier to navigate.
As a way to reduce costs, Dearborn’s IT Department and communications team reached out to the webmaster from the Dearborn Public Schools to help them redesign the new site.
This first collaboration between the city and our schools could lead to other actions where the two sides pool resources to save tax dollars.
Other cost-saving ideas under discussion include looking at whether combining snow removal, grass cutting and even having a joint newsletter for residents might be more beneficial than the city and school continuing to do each of these separately.
Whether or not any of this is even practical or if it will save money still has to be determined. But the fact the two are talking is good sign for all taxpayers.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
It definitely is less cumbersome but it still lacks substance. It’s still absolutely useless compared to say Ann Arbor’s website.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:23 am
Haven’t had much time yet to use it but I must say the #1 improvement is the inclusion of the search engine–I can’t believe the first one didn’t have it!
February 18th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Vastly superior to the old one but it’s still not there yet. They are continuing to tweek it.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
The heck it is an improvement, I just was there today and was completely lost, couldn’t find anything and all it is is just fancy new modern flashy graphics that doesn’t improve a thing! At least with the old one i knew where everything was at cause everything was laid out just right! It amazes me the city comes up with extra cash to “improve” their website but yet they are complaining about a tight budget, jeez!
February 19th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
No offense, but the new site is nothing special. Its pretty generic.
February 19th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
The City continues to waste time and money on garbage like this, and yet they alleviate so many part-time workers, when they could offer better assistance than we currently have. I had to wait at the police department, it seemed forever, before someone called me up to the desk. While paying my taxes, I thought my legs were going to give out — hire some cheap part-timers, and give us residents the good service, we have become accustomed to.
February 19th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Rediculous you are right on. Go to the Dearborn Schools website but take your sunglasses. It has evolved into an acid flashback trip, hard to navigate and easy to get lost. He also redesigns it every few weeks. The city could have went to JCI or somewhere and got a professional job.
February 20th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
The city could have asked residents for help I am sure that there are at least a few people out there the would have been willing to lend a hand.
February 20th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Both websites are terrible. I can never find what I am looking for on either site. One of the worst city websites I have been on. By far the worst of any city our size.
February 20th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
I think that school district website looks great, Im sure that is what he gets paid for, updating it. If it was the same month after month wouldnt you complain on that?
The city’s website looks great and I had no issue figuring stuff out. My only wish is that they would use up to date pics, city council pics are soooo outdated
February 21st, 2010 at 4:38 pm
I’ve had no issues with the new city website either and I think it is a huge improvement over the prior website. The fancier some websites get the more overwhelming they become and the fact that our new city website is simple, makes it that much easier to utilize and navigate through. IMHO, a huge improvement over the original website…
February 22nd, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Maybe instead of just broadly complaining that the site is hard to navigate, you could let the webdesigner know WHY it’s hard to navigate. I’m sure if you proposed some suggestions instead of only general criticism, he may just make changes to make it easier for you. Personally, I don’t have a hard time finding what I need on either site. Maybe the reason its hard to navigate is because of user error.
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Try to find the commission for disability concerns. The biggest problem is that the search engine is not effective.
February 26th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Maybe they can add a trial tab. Ms. smith got 2 yrs and 29,000 pay back. Andy and Bob are next. Yahoo!
February 26th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Both the city and the school district websites leave something to be desired. The school district’s web site is not updated too often; it is changed too often so when you go on and are looking for something you may have used a couple weeks ago, it is no longer there. It is no longer anywhere to be found. both sites are NOT user friendly.