Facelift Planned for Hatboro’s Site

The address will remain the same, but this summer, Hatboro’s existing Web site will have a new look, additional features and greater navigability, officials said.

The council this week voted unanimously to approve a $5,587 contract with Sitecats Web Design to make over the existing borough Web site. Once complete, in six to eight weeks, the upgraded site would be easier for various borough departments to post information, update the site and for police to add timely alerts regarding crime and evacuations, officials said.

Sitecats representative, Tom Allebach, in his brief presentation to the governing body, said the Doylestown-based company, which has been in business for six years, designs hundreds of Web sites, including municipal Web sites for Souderton, Telford, Hatfield, as well as Quakertown Alive.

At the end of the day, Allebach said the site should speak to three different populations: Hatboro residents; families and individuals interested in coming to Hatboro; and the local business community.

“Creating a Web site isn’t like a once and done activity,” Allebach said. “It’s something that needs to be updated on a regular basis.”

earlier this year and sought proposals. Sitecats was the least expensive option, charging a $126 annual hosting fee, as compared to the nearly $600 hosting fee the borough currently pays. Officials have acknowledged that approved minutes and other posted items sporadically drop off, or are unable to load on the current outdated site.

Allebach said Hatboro would retain ownership of the site and could do all of the necessary updates in-house as a way to cut costs in the future.

“We’re just experts at setting it up,” Allebach said. “Once the site’s created, it’s yours.”