Description
The District selected us after a very competitive bidding process in early 2008 and chose for us to re-design the Kitimat website. They had a vision for a new website that will significantly improve communication between the District of Kitimat and their constituents, visitors and businesses. They also required the site to have a content management system which would allow District staff to update the website themselves, thereby maintaining the site's attractive new look and feel but still allowing staff to update the site, whenever they wanted.
We began this project in August 2008 and subsequently created a site that is both visually attractive and easy to navigate. Blending a bold appearance and a content area with a wealth of white space allowed the site to look striking while still clearly displaying the important information that the District needed to communicate.
From a design perspective, the District had provided us with a host of attractive images that aptly displayed life in Kitimat. We worked with District staff to select images that stood out, integrated well with the new design and that would be visually engaging with website visitors. We subtly incorporated Kitimat's branding throughout the design and utilized their bold colour scheme and vivid imagery to create a bright and energetic look for the site.
As well, the new website features enhanced accessibility: this includes text resizing and a high contrast layout for people with vision impairments, and a mobile stylesheet for those viewing the site on portable devices. We also increased the site's functionality, adding a customized events calendar and RSS feeds to the website. After these functions and features were added, the site was then integrated with our content management system, ElementCMS. This was completed using custom CMS templates, and Kitimat staff were then given on-site CMS training. The CMS easily allows District staff to update the website on their own with just an internet connection. Staff are also given full technical support for any issues they may encounter. Lastly, we are hosting the site for Kitimat, as well, thereby giving them a truly comprehensive website solution.
