A website built for the “City of Champions”
The City of Massillon is a city in Ohio with a population of 32,146 according to the 2020 census. Many football stars came from the city, which gave it the nickname, “City of Champions”. This phrase now refers to the spirit, determination, and dedication of the people of the community. Now, the city has a website to match its vision.
The Challenge
The City of Massillon had a website that was very outdated and would not even work on a smartphone. Since over 50% of website visitors view websites on mobile, this was a large issue for the city. They also needed a way to easily share news, events, and the city’s information with residents, local businesses, and visitors in an accessible way. Speaking of accessibility, their website also had to be accessible for those with permanent and temporary disabilities, not only because they would reach all of their residents and visitors, but also because they are required to meet Section 508 compliance as a government website. All of these issues were taken into consideration as we formed a plan to make their site current, functional and accessible.
Our Approach
At LaBella Creative, we first got to work on organizing the nearly 200 pages on the site in an easy-to-navigate site map. We considered that there were three main audiences — residents, businesses, and visitors. We organized the pages in these main categories as well as government and departments. There were some items that required a second navigation menu at the top of the header on each page that residents could quickly find to complete tasks like making payments. In this process, we also uncovered pages and content that needed to be added to the new site.
After the pages were organized into a site map, we moved on to creating prototypes of some of the main pages to show the placement of content on each page. Once the city approved, we designed the interface of the site using their current branding. We created a color palette that would match their branding and also be easily viewed and accessible.
We then built out the pages on the site using the color palette and design with content from their current site and some new content. We created a website that had accessibility in mind from the start of the design process to the final development of the site.
The Results
The City of Massillon now has a site that is easy to navigate on desktop, mobile, and tablets for its many residents, visitors, and area businesses. The site is built in a way that is easy to update for the city’s employees. The city is now confident that its site is accessible and can be accessed by all. They are able to easily share meetings and events in a new events calendar and have the ability to add news and announcements as they come up. We were so happy to build a site that could make such an impact for the city and its residents, visitors, and businesses.
