Town of Woodstock Launches New Website

Woodstock, Connecticut has developed a new town website at www.woodstockct.gov.  The purpose of the site is “to enhance communication, by providing open access to timely, accurate and useful information about Town government via the Internet.”  The home page greets the visitor with a slide show of scenes from Woodstock. 

The site offers electronic access to public documents, including agendas and minutes from the Board of Selectmen, Planning & Zoning Commission and Inland Wetlands; volunteer and job openings; referendum results; reports and ordinances.  It also provides news, meeting schedules and a calendar for community events, points of contact, and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. There are special features like a list of locally grown products, the ability to pay tax bills online, and pages on Woodstock’s history, public safety, schools and libraries.  Much of this information has never been available on the Internet before.  New content is being added on a daily basis, and more improvements are planned.

Woodstock First Selectman Margaret Wholean said, “I would like to thank everyone who volunteered ideas, information and time to get this site up and running.  Almost all of the work has been done by volunteers.  Although this process took some time, the result is a website that reflects the town’s identity and concerns and also saved a significant amount of money.”   

The custom made website was built with free Dot Net Nuke (DNN) software, which is also used by large cities like Denver CO and Wilmington NC.   DNN is an open source web application for creating, deploying and managing interactive sites in a secure manner.  One of its advantages is the ability to allow content providers (e.g., various Town employees or Board and Commission volunteers) to add information to their portions of the site.  This decreases the amount of work any one person has to do and disperses control of the website to the participants.   In the past, a Content Management System like this could easily cost tens of thousands of dollars in addition to a “per registered user” fee; all basic DNN features are available at no cost.

The Website Committee welcomes constructive feedback on how to improve the site, and broader membership.  There is a link to a feedback form on the home page at http://www.woodstockct.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=245, or you can email the Committee at feedback@woodstockct.gov, or call the Selectman’s Office at (860) 928-0208.