Napa County's Website Needs Improvement

Lack of Standards – The Jury found that although all departments use a standard web page design, there is a wide range of formats and features from department to department. Document naming conventions are not consistent, frequently making documents difficult or impossible to find. Some departments include helpful information, like organizational charts, but others do not. Website users would benefit from more uniform formats and features.

Content Out of Date or Wrong – The Jury found that content on the site is not current. Some links to documents do not go to current versions of those documents. Some reports that are referenced don’t exist. Some reports cannot be found through website searches and can only be accessed if readers already know the location. Documents that are supposed to be available elsewhere, i.e., at the county library, are not there. Regular reviews of website content are not being done.

Search Function is Weak – The search function on the county website is inadequate.

Website Content Not a Priority – Managing website content is a line manager responsibility, and it is clear that it is not a priority for some departments. In most cases, monitoring and updating website content make up a small fraction of the jobs of the administrators who are assigned those duties, and those people have widely varying ability and interest in the task. The technical challenges of maintaining the site are intimidating for some. The website is not getting sufficient attention to make it an important communication and customer service tool. 6

Site Not Living Up to Full Potential – Although the website is a useful resource and has become a primary source of county information, it has not lived up to its potential to be an effective tool for providing service and efficiency. In addition to having inaccurate and hard to find data, the site does not support even basic transaction capability, such as scheduling appointments and submitting applications, functions that are available on the websites of other counties. The current organizational structure relies on part time content administrators and puts the responsibility for website maintenance and development on the shoulders of line managers, who in many cases do not have the necessary resources to do that. Information Technology Services does have some systems development capability, but also has limited resources and does not have the responsibility for driving process enhancements in county departments and divisions. As a result, the website falls well short of the functionality it could and should have.