The City of Fremont's Website Redesign

• Design by Usability
  • View the Design History
• Extensive Information Architecture
• Implementing a Content Management System

Our slogan for this project was "Make it as easy as possible." We wanted to make it as easy as possible for customers to find what they need and for City staff to update the website on a regular basis.

Design by Usability

Fremont.gov was designed with a usability methodology. All of the key design questions were answered by customers in a series of over 60 usability tests. We asked customers to find certain pieces of information throughout the site and depending on how long it took the average person to find that information, we gauged how usable the item being tested was and then made design adjustments.

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Information Architecture

Information architecture is critical to the beginning of every website. Designers and programmers alike must understand the flow of information before compositions are created and code is written. The web team spent three months developing an extensive detail-oriented flow chart. We took information from the previous website, moved it around, renamed it, discarded some of it, added more information, and so on. Although the website is constantly changing, it always reflects the basic structure of the architecture.

Additionally, we wanted the categories and information organized and named in a way that customers would easily understand, but also would be flexible over time. Usability testing helped us to achieve our goals more efficiently.

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Content Management System

The City of Fremont implemented a content management system with this redesigned website. This software system separates content from design, allowing the design experts to focus on design and content experts to focus on content. Non-technical City staff can now easily update the information the website on a regular and timely basis.  The website's "look and feel" stays consistent through the use of standard templates developed by the web designer.

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Contact the Web Team

Name and Title	Email	Phone
Cheryl Golden Communications	cgolden@ci.fremont.ca.us	510-284-4025
Michele Niccore Web Master	mniccore@ci.fremont.ca.us	510-494-4827

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Acknowledgements

The Web Team would like to thank Jennifer Farren, the designer for the Fremont.gov website. Jennifer's commitment to excellence in her design work continues to be appreciated here at the City of Fremont.

The Web Team would also like to thank Glenn Fajardo, the project manager for the website redesign, for all of his hardwork, dedication, and ability to negotiate excellent contracts on behalf of the City for the website.