Utah.gov gets major overhaul

<p dir=”ltr”><span>The official website of the state of Utah got a major makeover last month.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>The</span> <span>Salt Lake Tribune</span> <span>reports that Utah.gov</span> <a href=”http://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2601779-155/utahgov-gets-a-makeover-aimed-at”><span>underwent significant changes</span></a> <span>in order to keep up with the latest Internet trends. A search bar in the middle of the screen allows users to search every kind of state, county, or local government service imaginable. A Utah resident can apply for a fishing license from the Division of Wildlife Resources, for example, or renew car registration at the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles webpage.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>The Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS) was responsible for the web renovations. David Fletcher, the department’s chief technology officer, is confident the website will please the nearly 1.5 million visitors it gets every month.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>”We have digital citizens that use the web,” Fletcher said, “so we’re trying to be the best digital state we can be.”</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>The website, conforming to the times, is compatible with mobile devices, gaming consoles, tablets, and smart TVs in addition to regular computers. Compatibility with mobile devices is incredibly important to Utah.gov, considering they provide 30% of its overall traffic.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>DTS did not work alone, however, when it retooled the website. The department teamed up with Utah website design and development company Utah Interactive when working on the site, a project that started last August.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>Sara Watts, Utah Interactive’s general manager, is particularly proud of the site’s geolocation features. The site can use the visitor’s IP address to determine where the visitor is and offer location-specific content as a result. This feature can be accessed under the site’s “My City” section.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>”If you’re living in Salt Lake City, it will show you jobs near you, parks and schools, services and local government meetings,” Watts said. “The same thing would happen for West Jordan or St. George.”</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>Another aspect DTS and Utah Interactive are proud of is the site’s loading time. It takes mere microseconds for the site to fully load, which is impressive considering how many images and videos Utah.gov has. It comes to no surprise that the web designers and developers made this a priority, since Utah has the highest number of households with computers according to the United States Census Bureau. Moreover, it is estimated that</span> <a href=”http://pw2.com/web-site-marketing/four-ways-to-lose-customers-online-instantly/”><span>40% of users will abandon a webpage</span></a> <span>if the load time is three seconds or longer.</span></p>

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