Hartlepool injects democracy to its systems

Local council looks to reduce web development and training costs

Hartlepool Borough Council has implemented a content management system (CMS) to make the process of web development more democratic and reduce associated development and training costs.

The Jadu Galaxies CMS technology enables non-technical users to create and manage multiple enterprise web content management systems, and has so far helped the council and its partners revamp three web sites in six weeks.

The web sites - Hartlepool NHS Primary Care Trust PCT, Hartlepool Partnership and Housing Hartlepool – are now easier to search for information.

Citizens wanting to find a local GP or dentist, useful telephone numbers or advice can do so faster and the council and its partners can analyse site traffic and council staff activity.

Managing content can be delegated to specific departments rather than being the sole demise of a webmaster.

So far Hartlepool has authorised 72 employees to contribute so people closest to the job can submit the most relevant content specific to their areas.

Paul Diaz, strategy development officer for Hartlepool Borough Council says the new system has removed the constraints usually associated with web development.

‘With no HTML experience needed, we have introduced the technology to a number of officers, who now take responsibility for updating various sections of the sites.’

He says employees can learn the basics within an hour.

‘Our old CMS wasn’t very easy to move and manage content, but now we can insert images, create hyperlinks and spell check content. Departments are able to edit their own sections.’

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