Congratulations to Suzy Youldon, who won £100 of shopping vouchers for filling in the survey
Thank you for your feedback
Thank you for filling in our survey. Your feedback will help us improve the online services we provide to you.
Key findings
Feedback from the survey has helped us to identify areas of the website that need improvement. We have already started to address a number of the suggestions made. The information below outlines our overall objectives.
Better Navigation
This is our number one priority for the website. There are around 2,000 pages within the Darlington Borough Council website in addition to thousands of documents such as pdf’s, sound files and video files. Our intention is to make it easier for people to find the information that they are looking for. To achieve this we will be working on 3 key objectives;
- Revision of the A-Z search tool, making sure that all of the key services are listed.
- Reducing the number of ‘low value’ links on the website home page, therefore only showing the key information that people are looking for.
- Introducing Google technologies as the key search function within the website.
Events and News
Local news and information about events were among the most popular things that people searched for. In response to this, will be introducing more news information and pictures onto the home page of the website. We are also working with the Tourism team and people across the Council to publish more information about events that are taking place within the Borough.
More Functionality
We were told that people wanted a richer online experience which involved more than just text on a page. In response to this we will be adding interactive maps onto the website where you will be able to locate things such as parks and recycling centres. We will also be adding more videos, sound clips and interactive functions. We have leaned that people would like more opportunities to interact with Council services online without the need to telephone or visit the town Hall in person. To accommodate this we will be creating more online functionality. Our first development in this area will be a way in which people can inform all sections within the council about a change in circumstances such as a name change or that you have moved house.
Website Style
A number of people commented that the website should be modernised in terms of styling (colours, layout, and images). We will be overhauling the majority of the pages on the site in order to give it a fresh look. Further to this, we will be encouraging different parts of the Council to review their web pages and consider adding more images and where possible video and audio clips.
Ongoing Feedback
The web survey provided us with some very useful feedback. Whilst we intend to commission the survey on an annual basis, we would like to provide people with an easy way to comment on our website whenever they have something to say. To accommodate this, we will be establishing a link at the bottom of every web page that will take people to an simple form where they can submit their comments.