Ferndale Launches New Website
(City of Ferndale Press Release, June 25, 2013)
On Tuesday, June 25th, the City of Ferndale will launch their new official website under the new domain www.ferndalemi.gov.
The launch of the new site marks an important step toward City Council’s objectives to make prodigious strides in digital government, communication, and technology standards.
The new website emphasizes the progression toward online service provision. Key highlights include the provision of online water bill payments, online water service account registration, online code enforcement requests, and a consolidated permit center.
Mayor Dave 
Coulter stated, “The successful launch of the new website is a symbol of our continual commitment to reinventing how our city communicates and does business.”
In June, 2012, the City selected Artemis Technologies of Lansing, Michigan to assist with the construction of the new website. Top priorities for the website upgrade were to restore content management to being an internal function, streamline the site navigation, upgrade the graphic design, and begin the first phase of designing for online transactions.
Chief Innovation Officer (CINO), Joseph Gacioch explained, “We wanted a nimble site comprised of up to date content that is direct, relevant, and audience-centric. Using this premise as our north star, we were able to reduce the page count between the current site and the new site by 172%.
Restoring internal content management and deploying structured editing permissions will help the City to maintain this standard.” 1 Total Page count for www.ferndale-mi.com is 2,128 pages 
(including css & modules). The number for the launch of www.ferndalemi.gov is 595 pages.
In the fall of 2013, the new site is scheduled to be optimized for mobile devices using responsive design principles to prioritize content. Gacioch stressed the importance of continuing to design for tomorrow’s user. He explained, “The acceleration of today’s digital age requires us to design our digital platform for mobility. People are using laptops, tablets and smartphones more frequently to manage accounts online, and as a primary means of communication and exploration. Citizens of 2020 will challenge the conventional service delivery model that requires them to visit City Hall in favor of a model that brings service options to them.”
Check out the new site at www.ferndalemi.gov.
