Jasper County launches new, more user-friendly website

Jasper County has a new website that allows easier navigation for users who want to access the most commonly sought out services.

The new website — www.jasperia.org — officially launched Oct. 10. Ryan Eaton, IT director for Jasper County, introduced the idea of using a new website provider to the board of supervisors about three months ago. The county has been using its previous web developer, CivicPlus, for the past 10 years or so.

However, a number of features were going away as the price to maintain the website continued to increase. After speaking with the Des Moines-based Neopolitan Labs, which also designed Jasper County’s election website, Eaton found out switching web developers could save the county $7,000 a year.

Jennifer Cross, social media and communications specialist for Jasper County, said the new website has been designed to be optimized for many users. The trend shows fewer people are using computers to access websites; many are using cellphones and tablets, and the website is enhanced for those users.

Which makes it easier for folks to find what they are looking for. County IT staff also discovered the most common services residents are looking for when they browse the website and put them on the front page: driver’s license and vehicle tags services, the jail, public meetings, elections information and Alert Iowa.

All six of these services are represented by their own icons on the home page. Coupled with an improved and intuitive search bar, residents should have no problem trying to find what they are looking for. Cross said the icons can easily be changed in the future if other services or departments became popular.

IT is one of the few departments that interacts with nearly all of the county departments. They, too, have information they want to get out on the web.

“They truly do want to communicate things to the public,” Cross said. “The auditor’s office wants people to come vote. The sheriff’s office wants people to know not to take this way or whatever. We all work well together to get some information out when it needs to be out.”

Eaton hopes residents enjoy the website’s ease-of-use.

Residents who are following Jasper County on social media are frequently redirected to the website, even more so now than in years past. The primary reason for that is the county is making more of an effort to inform users on sites like Facebook. Cross is often the person making those posts.

As a result of the county’s increased social media presence, Cross said residents are feeling more informed by their local government. Which is also partly due to social media evolving into a source for information rather than a place just to socialize with friends. Social media usage has also improved transparency.

“People know what is going on,” Cross said. “Road projects are a huge deal. I think it’s important to put those things on Facebook and let them know what the project is, show them a map of what the project is, the estimated time it’s going to take to complete. And I update those as I have information.”

Eaton added, “We’re getting the info out there. We’re putting it out there as much as we can. It’s not a secret, but some people just don’t know where to find it.”

Especially during important times of the year, like election season. Again, Cross said social media is a source for information and has become a place to “Google things.” By posting regularly about roads, elections, veterans affairs or any other county department, there’s more of a chance users will find what they seek.

Susan Young, IT tech for Jasper County, said the county’s social media presence has also increased traffic to the website. People are also now taking notice of the county’s recorded supervisors meetings, which are usually uploaded two at a time on the same webpage as the agendas and minutes.

View counts are increasing, but so are the amount of people seeking county services. With the treasurer’s office now allowed to provide cross-county motor vehicle services, folks from Polk County are coming to Newton for shorter wait times. Of course, before they make the drive, they check the website.

“They want to know what to bring before they come, so that page has a slew of traffic because that is a very busy office within our county,” Cross said. “Keeping that information up-to-date and letting people know that information is there is always important, too.”