Just last month, West Chester Township introduced the 5th iteration of our township website at www.WestChesterOH.org. The new “corporate brochure” is more intuitive, easier to use and navigate than past websites.
Literally, at your fingertips, is everything you want and need to know about West Chester Township! It is the ultimate “transparency” tool for residents and business owners to explore and discover everything from:
• West Chester Departments and available jobs,
• Zoning rules and regs,
• Past and future meetings of the Board of Trustees, Zoning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA),
• Events and happenings,
• Revenue and Expenses through the Open Data Portal,
• Economic Development and our Local Economy, and
• Customized Delivery of NewsRoom feed to your Email Inbox.
But the website is only the beginning of how West Chester is reaching out to keep residents and corporate stakeholders informed!
The Public Information & Engagement Department, headed by Director Barbara Wilson, works tirelessly every day to collect, manage, create, and disseminate West Chester news through various Social Media
platforms including:
• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WestChesterOH/
• Twitter at https://twitter.com/westchestertwp
• Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/westchestertownship/
• Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/westchesteroh
• YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC7St9jrtJPcTpScjua1E_A
• Nextdoor at https://nextdoor.com/agency-detail/oh/west-chester-township/west-chester-township-1/?i=nmppwbhwdtbptsnbnwhk
All of these social media links are accessible at the bottom of every website page.
Barb Wilson provides the following statement regarding the evolution of the Township’s web presence:
“The Township first entered the digital world in 1997 acquiring the www.westchesteroh.org domain name and establishing internet access with a dedicated 128K ISDN. There was debate at the time of what our domain name would look like because we remained Union Township until March 2000 when voters “claimed the name” West Chester Township. While the www.westchesteroh.org domain was acquired in 1997, the website was not developed that early. The first time the website is referenced in the township newsletters is in the spring 1998 issue”.
The website was first developed on the Township’s network with IT responsible. Through 2001 there are references of website content management by independent contractors.
It wasn’t until around 2008/2009 that the township’s website was moved to a platform outside of the township’s network. The township worked with E-Gov until 2015 when the township contracted with Vision Internet (now Granicus). This is our second contract with Granicus.
Websites were once considered products of IT departments because of the newness of the technology. Businesses and agencies then began to realize more and more that websites were part of marketing and promotion. Content then became the bigger focus and user-friendly content management systems became more common place, so you didn’t have to know computer code to make content updates”.
Last point, West Chester loves visitors to it’s website, but probably the best way to stay up to date with the Township information is to go to the ‘NEWSROOM’ home page link and subscribe for email delivery. Enter your name and email and you’ll get an invite so you can personalize your West Chester email deliveries – your interests and your schedule!
I believe that now, more than ever, it’s important for citizenry to have easy access to relevant local information that impacts you and your family’s lives in positive ways. By the looks of things, West Chester Township is doing a great job!
