City of Seaside Website Redesign

About the Project

The City of Seaside, Oregon, is located 80 miles from Portland and is one of the most visited and popular oceanfront resorts on the Oregon coast. When the city leaders wanted a website they could be proud of, they turned to Balance Interactive. The new website needed to attract employees, entice visitors, communicate with local residents, and be easily updated.

The Balance Interactive solution included:

Website Strategy

Balance Interactive worked with The City of Seaside to define an effective website strategy that would help the city streamline its website. The strategy centered on three key recommendations:

• Use a content management system (CMS) to the fullest extent possible
• Write terrific audience-focused copy
• Create a style guide with direction and policies to administrators

By using audience-based and topical navigation, Balance Interactive was able to create an architecture that was easy to use and navigate but that could also expand.

Fresh New Design

Balance Interactive created a design that is fresh and visually appealing. The new design allows the city to highlight multiple images on the homepage, and the images can be changed over time and with the seasons.

Content Management With Drupal

The new Seaside website leverages the Drupal content management system to streamline site maintenance. All of the site content is managed through Drupal. Staff members in each city department can now add or edit their own department’s content. City staff members have been trained on the Drupal CMS and can add events, meeting minutes, and press releases easily and quickly.

Usable Forms

In addition to creating several online forms that users can complete and submit online, Balance Interactive also created a form library. City staff can now post frequently requested PDF forms in the form library, separated by department, for users to download.