Will County Gazette

After Shorewood Economic Development Director Natalie Engel gave a rousing endorsement for Revize LLC, the village board, at its Jan. 24 meeting, approved a web services agreement for the company.

The board was told new contract was necessary because the village's website, while still usable, is getting a little bit old. The company that was providing current website services has stopped updating and managing the platform and system that the website is on, so the site will continue to deteriorate in coming months as it is no longer serviced. 

“(Revize LLC) can check to make sure all of our links work,” Engel told the board members in discussing what the company offers the village. “So if we're linking to the county or the chamber or the Department of the State, it checks all of those for us. It checks to make sure that we're ADA compliant and that, you know, somebody with low vision could read our stuff.”

It also offers a built-in translator, allowing website visitors to read the page in English or Spanish.

“It's got what's called responsive web design,” she added. “So it intuitively knows if you're on a computer or if you're on a tablet and where to put the various buttons in the menus so that you'll read it. And also what you're more likely to be looking at on a computer or tablet.”

It has 24/7 support, thereby ensuring it offers “all the things you would want in a modern website company,” Engel summed up.

The village staff examined several different options and providers. Revize is one of the three main vendors that work with municipalities and it was found to be the best choice, with all staff unanimously agreeing on the vendor. Revize serves many municipalities in the area, having managed more than 2,300 city websites. The board was told all its sites are customized to each city and the staff will be able to work with a designer to ensure all the specifications they require are right where they want them on the site. 

With the change in provider, people can expect the site to be much more user friendly. Ultimately, it will connect directly to all the village social media to increase communication with residents. 

The contract will cost $17,700 for the first year, as this includes the design and creation process. Every year after that will be $3,900, a fee that will cover the cost of regular updates and maintenance, and a complimentary total refresh at year four. With the village board's favorable vote, a tentative switch-over date is expected to come in the spring.