The updated City of Chilliwack website went live Tuesday with a fresh, sleek look.
The new web design for www.chilliwack.com was presented to council for information by Erik Leidekker, manager of information technology at the city.
"It's very modern-looking with all the functionality one would expect," he said during his report.
On the home page, a slide show of photos on a five-second loop accompanies the big topics impacting the city. Right now the grand opening of the Sardis library on June 26 is featured in those notifications, along with Bike to Work week (May 20 to June 2) and details about flood protection in the context of the Fraser River freshet.
All the major categories have easy to navigate drop-down menus, and a tab called "I want" leads to a range of services offered from contacting the mayor's office to getting a business licence.
Leidekker presented the city's new mapping section online, with a range of layers and data, which he described as a "research tool" that can by accessed everyone from residents and businesses to visitors, and city staff.
Although the redesign is a major milestone for the city, this project will be ongoing, with updates coming regularly.
Councillor Jason Lum congratulated staff on "a job well done."
The next step in the evolution would be "opening up the data sets" such as the mapping tools, and possibly working with tech students from university or high school.
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
Twitter.com/chwkjourno