Newport staff preview redesigned city website; internal testing next, two-day launch planned

John Fuller, the city’s communications director, told the Newport City Council at a work session that the city’s redesigned website is “probably 90% done” and will enter internal testing soon before broader external testing and a planned two-day shutdown for the final switchover.

Fuller and staff presented a preview of the new site and its subpages — including separate sub‑sites for police, library and parks and recreation — and described features designed to make municipal information and services easier to find. Fuller said the homepage will include four prominent quick‑link tiles for high‑need actions (for example, bill payments and service requests), an alerts feature for urgent notices, a streamlined contact form for contacting the council, and integrated calendars for city meetings and departmental events.

The redesign also includes a new, searchable municipal code interface (migrated from a static PDF), a fillable public‑records request form created by staff member Ally, and upgrades to department pages such as an airport page with pilot call numbers and landing‑fee information. Fuller said some imagery and content remain placeholders and will change before launch.

Why it matters: City officials said the current site can be difficult to navigate…