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Walnut Creek reviews one-year results of 2024 website redesign, plans expanded accessibility and chatbot
Summary
City staff reported a 26% increase in web traffic and other gains a year after redesigning four city websites; councilors asked about quality-assurance improvements and next steps on accessibility, mobile experience and chatbot deployment.
Liz Payne, the city’s digital services manager, and City Manager Dan Buckscheid presented an update to the Walnut Creek City Council on March 18 on the 2024 website redesign and the city’s broader communications program.
Payne said the redesign focused on customer-centered navigation, clearer calls-to-action and expanded translation and accessibility tools. "We launched our four redesigned sites built with customers in mind to deliver a more cohesive and customer-friendly experience," she told the council. Payne reported a 26% increase in overall website traffic since the redesign and said the four sites together average about 2,700,000 views a year.
The presentation highlighted specific outcomes: the Housing Division saw a 38% increase in visitors after simplifying content and replacing PDFs with online forms; newsletter subscriptions exceed 24,000; Instagram and YouTube led platform growth at about 17% annually; and the city consolidated content and added automated notifications for programs such as the community development ADU rebate workflow. Payne said staff replaced manual spreadsheets with a centralized database for complex customer processes.
Council members asked about the drivers of improved “quality assurance” scores in analytics. Payne said the analytics measure included verifying links and that staff now track and update links more closely. "One of the main things that the analytics measures for quality assurance is links on the site," Payne said.
Payne outlined next steps: improved mobile design (two-thirds of users access the site via mobile devices), expanded online forms, a digital accessibility initiative to make PDFs and reports readable by screen readers, and an IT-led chatbot to help users find content and notify staff when pages need updates.
City Manager Dan Buckscheid and council members praised the communications team’s work. Council member Silva called the numbers “truly impressive,” and others asked that staff continue focusing on accessibility and customer feedback. The council did not take an action vote; the presentation was received for information and staff will return with implementation steps as projects mature.
