City of Hamilton launches new website to improve user experience

HAMILTON, ON – The City of Hamilton’s new and improved website launches on Monday September 19, 2022. The new version of Hamilton.ca will enhance user experience and increase searchability for City information and online services.

Search functionality was the top priority guiding the development of the new site. The website was designed to make it easier for visitors to navigate the site and includes an improved sitemap structure and enhanced search function to help users find the information they need faster.

The website aimed for an inclusive design that will automatically change to fit any device and result in a better user experience on all devices, including laptops, tablets or mobile phones.   

The new Hamilton.ca website ensures the City of Hamilton is on track to achieve full compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). The new site has a 90 per cent compliance score for accessibility, a 25 per cent improvement from the old site.

The City’s website project will include future phases to enhance the new site and increase accessibility features, including:

• Integration opportunities with the eScribe platform, to allow the City’s web technology to search the digital platform that houses information on Council business and Council documents.
• Improvements to online services in cooperation with the City’s Innovation division.
• Development of subscription-based newsletters offering users the ability to receive proactive updates on select topics directly via email.
• Reducing the large volume of PDF content on the site.

The City thanks residents, stakeholders and City advisory committees for sharing their feedback on the website during the initial consultation phase and as part of an online survey on the beta site’s desktop and mobile applications. Community feedback will continue to inform the City’s continuous improvement efforts on the website moving forward.

Quick Facts

• Hamilton.ca receives approximately 60,000 visitors daily, or 1.8 million visitors monthly.

• Hamilton.ca is the primary source of resident information for 60+ services and programs delivered by the City and acts as a digital library consisting of over 1,200 pages, 6,000+ bylaws and 2,000 documents and resources.

• Top five services visited on Hamilton.ca in 2022 to date:

  • Recreation

  • Jobs

  • COVID-19 vaccinations

  • Waste collection

  • Transit

• The site was designed with a mobile first approach in mind. 57 per cent of all visitors in the last year accessed Hamilton.ca on a mobile or tablet device. Note: compared to 67 per cent mobile/tablet traffic pre-pandemic.

• The new site was constructed over the last year using Drupal 9 technology at a cost of $213,900.

• The City launched a beta version of the new site in July 2022 which provided residents with an opportunity to give the City feedback and inform the City’s continuous improvement efforts that will continue in perpetuity.