North Kingstown IT Director Jason Albuquerque waited anxiously after flipping the proverbial switch at 11 a.m., launching the town's new website. An hour later, his e-mail inbox pinged.
"I got an email from a local web developer," said Albuquerque. "We launched the site an not even an hour later this developer e-mails me and said 'awesome job on the website.'"
The IT department rolled out its newly designed website for the Town of North Kingstown Monday morning, along with new websites for the North Kingstown Golf Course and North Kingstown Free Library. For the town's website, it's the first update in more than six years.
Find out what's happening in North Kingstownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"We got to the point where the size of the website, the content and the popularity forced us to go to a content management system over what we used to have," said Albuquerque.
The new update features a rotating banner, photos and a more accessible format. The cost? Just the time and dedication of the IT department, says Albuquerque. The new websites are now hosted on an open source platform which is free to use. He also adds that the new site will be more efficient and take up less time in town employees' schedules, helping to cut costs for the town.
Find out what's happening in North Kingstownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Albuquerque also promises the new sites will give residents a more interactive experience.
"In this day and age, when you're in government, your website is your town hall when you're closed," said Albuquerque.
Check out screenshots of the new sites in our photo gallery or visit them in the links provided above.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
