Accessible and informative websites

The City's Web Division operates within the Department of Services & Innovation. It works closely with city departments to provide a variety of web development services.

Reykjavík.is

The flagship project of our web division is undoubtedly reykjavik.is. The site is one of the most visited in the country and aims to provide comprehensive service and be the information hub for all city residents.

The site recently underwent a redesign and rewrite from the ground up in line with the City's Service Policy and a new design system was developed simultaneously. 

It was created in wide consultation with multiple stakeholders, with simplicity, inclusive design, and accessible information provision as the major focus.

The City has over two hundred websites and we plan to reduce their number and consolidate their content step by step on the main Reykjavík City website for better quality and security management.

 

Hanna – digital design system

The new Reykjavík City website is the first project based on the City's digital design system - Hanna. Hanna is a guide that includes design instructions and various other useful information for Reykjavík City staff.

 

With a design system, we can respond quicker to challenges in the digital world, ensure continuity in user experience, and better serve the city residents. The system includes fonts, colors, visual style, voice, and design units with code so that digital products with a consistent look can be created without having to start from scratch each time.  

Translations

Increased effort has been put into translating digital content, as it is important that the diverse group that visits the City's website can find information easily.

A lot of work has gone into building infrastructure and improving the flow of text between systems to make the most of powerful translation software, regardless of where and how the content is displayed on the site.

Efforts have been made to ensure consistent language in translations, as well as style, and a foundation has been laid for increased automation.

The chatbot on Reykjavík's website has been translated into English, and a Polish translation is planned.

Web analytics

The web analytics and quality tool Siteimprove has now been implemented for many more City website areas than before.

 

The goal is to improve content quality on websites and simplify website management and control.

 

With this addition, it's possible to access benchmarks and monitor website quality, improve accessibility issues, and facilitate search engine optimization and web analytics. 

Enhanced services

To improve service and increase efficiency, the Jira service portal from Atlassian was implemented in cooperation with IT services, which has used the Jira request system for a long time.

 

The work to update the processes that are triggered when web-related requests come in is ongoing. The web department aims to direct all service requests to the portal in the future. 

Web media and content creation

The Web Division, in cooperation with the City's Communication Team, has recently been working on a brand vision and a so-called style guide.

The style guide aims to standardize the presentation of content issued by the City. It covers common mistakes, general City writing rules, and the approach to sensitive topics.

Furthermore, the Web Division provides advice on content presentation on the web, including content selection, accessibility, readability, and general appearance. This is accomplished through the distribution of educational material, such as on Workplace, advice and training across the City's administration, and assistance in setting up web content.

 

The Green Deal

The Green Deal is a Reykjavík City initiative laying the lines in finance, investment and key green projects for the next 10 years.

 

The Web Division contributed to the content creation for the Green Deal website, collaborating with the Employment & City Development Team and the Kolofon design studio.

 

The Green Deal website clearly demonstrates the utility of the digital design system Hanna, and how it can facilitate and speed up web development.  

Music Experiments

The new Music Experiments website was launched in 2021. During the development of the website, a new content builder was introduced in the WordPress content management system, which will be useful for future web site developments.

 

Much work was done on the content and backend with the aim of making the website more sustainable for the future. The goal is to update the website's appearance in line with other music festivals that the Music Experiments target audience often associates with. 

Tónlistarkonan Kusk flytur lag á úrslitakvöldi Músíktilrauna 2022.

Department of Welfare's annual report

The Department of Welfare's annual report is an ambitious project that could be replicated across other City departments.

 

Instead of issuing a printed report, the Department of Welfare's annual report is a web site, with emphasis on visual presentation and simplicity throughout.

 

The Web Department collaborated on the production, design, and presentation of the report, working closely with the editorial team from the Department of Welfare.