City Launches New Website with Better Mobile Compatibility and Increased Language Accessibility

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SANTA BARBARA, CA – 6/27/2022

The City will launch a new website on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, that features a clean and modern design and better mobile compatibility. The website aligns with the City’s goals of inclusivity, providing the capability for Spanish translation and a better experience for those in the disability community. The enhancements were driven by public input expressing a desire for ease of navigation and the ability to search.

Information Technology’s Director Justin Cure said that the City’s former website was nearly 10 years old, based on technology that was no longer supported, and did not provide the functionality to make it more inclusive.

“The move to a new website platform allowed us to focus on being more resilient to future change and improvements in technology” Cure said. 

The new site uses the open source Drupal platform, which has been standardized by the federal government as the website foundation of preference. Drupal provides a flexible, scalable, and accessible website foundation.

When faced with the need for a new website, the City outlined three overriding goals that helped to shape the project:

·         Accessibility: Making the website experience better for visitors with disabilities.

·         Bilingual: Installing a website platform that is capable of providing an immersive Spanish user experience.

·         Mobile Devices: Offering a better user experience on all devices.

The changes affect the City’s main website as well as its sub-sites for the Airport, Parks and Recreation, and Library departments.

Visitors are invited to experience the City’s new online look and get reacquainted with the navigation at SantaBarbaraCA.gov; flysba.com; SBParksAndRec.SantaBarbaraCA.gov; or SBPLibrary.org.