• City of Tacoma QA
  • City of Tacoma OpenData




Website Modernization and Redesign

City Website Modernization Coming Spring 2025 

 

The cityoftacoma.org website, launched in 2013, receives an average of 5.5 million page views annually. It serves as the central hub for Tacoma residents, businesses, and visitors, facilitating communication with local government, providing essential digital services, and promoting transparency. However, the current platform requires an update to better meet user needs and technological advancements. 

In a 2023 site assessment, it was discovered that cityoftacoma.org is outdated in terms of service delivery, accessibility, mobile friendliness, and user experience.  

In the spring of 2025, visitors seeking information about the City of Tacoma will see a new and improved City website that is modern, attractive, engaging, information-rich, and accessible on any internet-connected device.   

 

What can you expect? 

 

  • Web modernization  

  • Improved navigation and new look and feel 

  • Mobile-friendly design 

  • Updated and more relevant content 

  • Increased accessibility and usability 

  • New URL 

  • The City website URL is changing from “cityoftacoma.org” to “tacoma.gov.” 

  • Most cityoftacoma.org URLs will automatically redirect to the corresponding content on the new tacoma.gov website. 

  • Updated Email Addresses  

  • Most City emails will change to "user@tacoma.gov" 

  • Communications sent to both the old and new addresses will reach the intended recipient. 

  •  

  • These updates align with council priorities to build trust and transparency.

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

What are the benefits?

  • Service improvements- Service improvements will benefit residents, community members, and City employees.  

  • Enhanced Security - Transitioning to the .gov domain will help mitigate cybersecurity threats.  

  • Improved Accessibility - A modern, user-friendly design provides engaging content that’s easily accessible. 

  • Improves branding (tacoma.gov is shorter and easier to remember)! 

  • Increased Equity- Prioritizing mobile accessibility ensures equitable access to City services for low-income, BIPOC, and youth populations.

How are these changes being achieved?

  • The City is collaborating with Tacoma-based SiteCrafting, a leading web development partner, to design, deploy, and support the new website.  

  • Community feedback has been central to the redesign, gathered through focus groups, usability testing, and community events.

How was the vendor selected, and how is this being funded?

  • Funding was originally approved in the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget. 

  • Approved City processes were used to select the vendor:  

  • In the last quarter of 2023, the City issued a request for proposals (RFP) to procure a vendor for building a new City website. 

  • After a competitive international search, in April 2024, Tacoma-based SiteCrafting was selected as the vendor for the City Website Modernization and Redesign Project. 

  • How is this being funded? 

  • SiteCrafting was awarded a contract for up to $440,000 (plus applicable tax) to transition the City to a modernized website.  

  • What are some key responsibilities of SiteCrafting? 

  • Planning & Management 

  • Design 

  • Usability Testing and Community Engagement 

  • Implementation  

  • Content Migration 

  • Quality Assurance Remediation  

  • User Acceptance Testing & Remediation  

  • Staff Training

 

What isn’t changing?

  • Some things are staying the same: 

  • Emails for the Library, Tacoma Venues & Events will not be changing at this time.  
     

How were these updates informed by the community?

  • Community input has been solicited through multiple events, including at a combination of larger community events, surveys, focus groups, and individual usability testing sessions.   

  • At focus groups, usability tests, and booths at community events, staff observed real users as they interacted with the website, simulating real-world scenarios and demonstrating challenges. 

  • In June 2024, the City and SiteCrafting staff attended One Tacoma Visioning Workshops at Bates Technical College and at Salishan Family Investment Center to gather community feedback about the new website.

What are the goals for the modernized website?

  • Improve navigation and enhance findability: 
    Quickly find information on common questions, current projects, City goals, council meetings, recent updates, news, resident issues, and alerts. 

  • Increase accessibility and usability: 
    Easy to navigate on various devices, with access to online services and accessible content for all users, regardless of ability or language, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant and being culturally inclusive.  

  • Modernized design: 
    The new design offers responsive layouts and visually appealing content with consistent branding, a refreshed logo, and color palette. This will greatly improve the look and feel of the website and overall user experience. 

  • Improve transparency and content accuracy: 
    Maintain relevant and current content across categories, departments, and offices to enhance transparency and information availability.  

  • Enhance resident engagement: 
    Improve resident engagement by providing online services, links to frequently accessed sites, communication alerts, and updates on key projects. 
      

How is this tied to City Council strategic priorities?

  • By helping the website to be accessible and easy to use, this project is working to increase engagement with the community, helping to build belief and trust.  

Why .gov?

  • Government domains decrease security vulnerability and require verification that the site is that of a government entity.  

  • Transitioning to .gov makes it easy for the public to identify and trust official information posted by the City of Tacoma. 

  • Compare and contrast:  

  • .org domains are available to anyone for a fee, making information published there less trustworthy.  

  • .gov domains are only available to U.S. based government organizations.

What is the impact of changing the City web URLs?

  • In addition to cityoftacoma.org, select other City-owned websites will also change their URL. Most cityoftacoma.org URLs will automatically redirect to the corresponding content on the new tacoma.gov website. 

  • The following websites will not change: mytpu.org, tacomalibrary.org, and tacomavenues.org. 

Will City of Tacoma emails change?

  • Yes, most emails using “@cityoftacoma.org” will change to “@tacoma.gov.” 

  • This change includes Tacoma Public Utilities. 

  • Emails sent to both the old and new addresses will reach the intended recipient. 

  • Emails for Tacoma Public Library, Tacoma Venues & Events will not be changing at this time.

How do I report an issue with the new website?

Information on how to report problems with the modernized website will be available closer to the website and URL launch date.

Additional questions?

  • Contact the Tacoma FIRST 311 Customer Support Center by dialing 311 within Tacoma city limits or (253) 591-5000 from anywhere else. 

  • Access TacomaFIRST 311 and select “Make A Request”, enter your approximate location, then select “Report a Problem with City of Tacoma Website. 



]]>