Welcome to the brand-new Nashville.gov. Here's a quick overview of the features you can find on the new website.
Brand New Look!
The new site was built from the ground up to be more attractive and more functional than its predecessor. Taking a cue from early recommendations from citizens that felt the previous site was cramped and hard to use we created more white space in this version. Fonts and colors were chosen with particular focus on improving accessibility and readability.
The new look was also approached from a mobile-first perspective. The majority of Nashville.gov users access the website from their phone or other mobile device. We wanted the new site to not just "also" work on mobile but reward mobile users with a site built for this increasingly used platform. At the same time the site works equally as well on desktops and laptops without any sacrifices.
Services-Centric Approach
One of the first things users will noticed is that services take a leading role on the website homepage. This approach was also the direct result of feedback from citizens who wanted to be able to see and access services without needing to know what Metro department handles any given service. The twelve most popular services (based on our analytics) are featured at the top of the website homepage and these twelve will change over time. Clicking the View All Services button below this section will present the user with a searchable and filterable list of all services listed on the website. We believe this feature will help users find exactly the service they are looking for quickly and easily.
A key extension of this model is that the services approach carries over to a department homepage. A department can feature their most popular or seasonal services at the top of their page making it easier for users to access those services without the need to browse through pages of content.
Fast and Flexible Search
The new site search is blazing fast and searches Nashville.gov, hubNashville, the new Legislation Portal, our existing legislation archive and the Property Assessors website all at once. The results will bring back any matches from those sites and the user can filter the results by Content Type (page, press release, news article,etc.) , Organization (departments, boards, etc.) and Website. The new search engine can make suggestions based on a user's search terms and there is a Search Help screen to help users better utilize the site search to its full potential.
In addition to an amazing site search users can search a single department from a search tool built into the top of a department's side navigation bar. This search is limited to just the department you are browsing.
Closer Connection with hubNashville
From any page in Nashville.gov a user can click the hubNashville icon in the top blue bar and jump immediately to hubNashville in order to check on a previously submitted request or create a new one. Searching on Nashville.gov will also search hubNashville request offerings to make it easier to find what you're looking for.
New Content Tagging System
A new content tagging system ties various pieces of content across the site back to single terms or phrases. Users will see these in various places on the site and clicking on a tag will present them with a page of all related content for that tag term. This provides a way for a user to find and see content that interests them but may be located in different areas across the site or from different content types like meetings, news articles and events.
New Consolidated Maps Page: NashvilleMaps
Metro has a lot of interesting and useful interactive maps and mapping tools, like NashView. We wanted to find a way to make those even more accessible than ever before. This page also offers several static maps that can be downloaded and printed free of charge.
New Collapsible Navigation Pane
When navigating any site, the navigation should never be in the way. Our new navigation model is easy to use when needed but tucks away when it's not. As previously mentioned there is a departmental search included in this new navigation pane.
Easier to Use News and Events
We made several improvements to the Metro News and Events features of the site to make it easier for users to find and share what's going on in Metro Government/
Site Feedback Tool
At the bottom of every page is a feedback option. Most of all this site is to help empower, educate and assist the citizens of Nashville and Davidson County. We want to hear from you about what works, what doesn't and where we can improve the website. This feedback is given anonymously, and every suggestion will be given consideration. Be sure to include what is wrong or what you like about a page with your feedback.
Departmental Contact Information
Another request from citizens was to have departmental contact information including address, telephone, FAX, email addresses and hours of operation in an easy to find location. On the homepage for each department you'll find this info on the right side of the page in a consistent location. If a department also has social media sites, they will be listed there as well. Additionally when viewing the list of departments on the site, most will have their main contact number listed under the department title for users that are simply looking for that number.
What Hasn't Changed
All the information about, or provided by, each Metro department represented by Nashville.gov can still be found on the site. We also maintain the highest commitment to website accessibility through continual testing for ADA compliance and with site language translation feature at the top. Every Nashvillian deserves a website helps them interact with Metro.