Just over five years have passed since the last major relaunch of the internet portal of the city of Offenbach am Main and the Stadtwerke group of companies. That's a long time in the Internet world, where design, structure and technology are changing rapidly. In order to keep up with the times, the city and Stadtwerke want to modernize their joint website and roll it out as a Progressive Web App (PWA). The municipal council approved this project on November 18. The city councillors will make the final decision at their next meeting on December 3.
"With the last major relaunch in 2015, the portal was modernized in terms of technology, content and appearance. Since then, the website has been responsive, which means it is optimized for use on a desktop PC as well as on a mobile device," explains Lord Mayor Dr Felix Schwenke. "However, user requirements have evolved considerably since 2015." Today, the majority of users access content on mobile devices. The traditional desktop PC is playing less and less of a role. "Today, every user wants to access the exact topic they are interested in very quickly and on the go. Basically, every user expects a completely different, individually tailored online offering. This cannot be achieved with the current website. As we aspire to be a modern city, we are rebuilding and in future will tailor our offering to the needs of users as much as is technically possible at present."
The municipal website www.offenbach.de already offers all services of the city and the municipal utilities as well as information on the offices of the city administration and the companies of the Stadtwerke Group, MainArbeit and EVO bundled together at www.offenbach.de/vv/. All online services of the city and the municipal utilities are also listed at www.offenbach.de/online-rathaus. In addition, the city's website provides target group-specific information for new citizens, families, people with disabilities, older people, businesses and foreign-language services for people living in Offenbach, moving to Offenbach or visiting the city as guests. The online editorial team also provides an overview list of construction sites in Offenbach, timetables, events and the vhs courses. All this information and offers are regularly expanded and updated.
With the restructuring, the City of Offenbach's Internet portal is to be geared even more strongly towards the target groups of citizens, visitors, companies and press representatives in terms of technology and user guidance by giving each target group its own entry point. In future, visitors will also be able to select the topic and target group for which they would like to receive information on the homepage. The homepage will then rebuild itself individually according to the user's interests.
"We will implement the realignment of the portal with our existing system. Our service provider, Sitepark GmbH, already has the technology we need for the target group-specific orientation of the portal in use, including with the city of Kassel," reveals Regina Preis, first Managing Director of Offenbacher Stadtmarketinggesellschaft (OSG) and Head of Corporate Communications at Stadtwerke. The special thing about the new technology is that the entire Internet portal or even just individual microsites of museums or event venues can be played out as a PWA. The PWA is based on a technology that combines the features of mobile (responsive) websites and native apps. They adapt to the respective end device and the browser used and can be accessed like a native app via an app icon. This eliminates the need to enter the Internet address in the browser.
"We know that native apps, which are offered via app stores, are hardly ever downloaded for municipal services. Native apps are also not suitable for up-to-date city information. With the PWA, we want to offer Offenbach residents a modern website and give app-savvy people the opportunity to store the PWA on their cell phones," added Mayor Schwenke. "The websites of offenbach.de can then be opened as if from a conventional app."
In future, citizens will also be able to choose to receive push notifications from the city of Offenbach. "This is particularly important in a crisis situation such as the coronavirus pandemic," emphasizes Fabian El-Cheikh, second OSG Managing Director and Head of the City's Public Relations Office. "We are already communicating all the new guidelines and regulations via newsletters, our website and social media. However, there are still people who don't feel sufficiently informed. In future, they will be able to subscribe to targeted push notifications from us and receive all the latest news immediately on their cell phone."