The Town of Westport’s new website is sweet. Modern-looking, attractive, with a calming blue hue and rotating set of iconic photos, it shows off our beautiful town while drawing readers in to learn more.
Presumably, some of those readers are outsiders thinking of moving here.
Which is why it’s so odd that it’s so hard to find information about our schools.
Seven major tabs are arrayed near the top. They read: “About the town,” “Government,” “Residents,” “Visitors,” “Businesses,” “Departments & Services” and “How Do I…”
Two lead to education — but they’re hardly intuitive, and you have to click several times on each.
The “Residents” tab leads to “Life in Town.” At the bottom of that dropdown menu, you see “Schools in Town.” Underneath that, you get “Westport Public Schools.” It’s a long way to go, and who would search for school info under “Residents”?
The 2nd link to education comes under “Departments & Services.” This is a bit more intuitive, and “Education” is first on the dropdown list. But rather than bringing up the Westport School District website, it delivers a dull and unnecessary page with the mission statement and school links — the exact same information that’s on the district site.
Westport is proud of its schools. We’ve got outstanding students, staff, programs and buildings. Our schools attract residents, and help us sell our homes.
Education deserves a place of honor on our town website.