Town Of High River – Municipal Website Development, Security & Ongoing Digital Stewardship
Building a reliable, accessible digital foundation for a growing Alberta community.
The Town of High River is a vibrant and growing municipality in southern Alberta. Its website functions as the town’s primary digital hub – supporting residents, businesses, and visitors with essential services, timely information, and civic engagement tools. From paying bills and submitting forms to accessing council updates and reporting concerns, the website is critical infrastructure for everyone living in High River.
The Brief
Municipal websites are unlike traditional marketing sites. They must be always available, highly secure, accessible to all users, and easy to navigate for people with varying technical abilities. For High River, even minor downtime or broken functionality can have immediate impacts on residents and municipal operations.
Simple Simple was engaged to build, maintain, and continuously support High River’s website platform, with a focus on long-term stability, accessibility compliance, proactive security, and dependable performance.
Key goals
Maintain a secure, stable, always-on municipal platform
Ensure ongoing accessibility compliance for all residents
Provide proactive monitoring and fast resolution of issues
Improve usability without disrupting essential services
Reduce administrative risk through reliable updates and maintenance
Allow municipal staff to focus on governance and service delivery, not technical troubleshooting
Our Approach
1. Municipal-Grade Website Development & Infrastructure
The High River website was built and is maintained as a service delivery platform, not a marketing brochure. Every decision prioritizes reliability, clarity, and accessibility. Key considerations included:
- Clear information hierarchy for residents
- Consistent navigation across departments and services
- Robust backend structure that supports frequent updates
- Scalable architecture that evolves with municipal needs
The result is a site that supports thousands of monthly users with confidence.
2. Security Updates & Risk Mitigation
Municipal websites are frequent targets for attacks and vulnerabilities. Simple Simple provides ongoing security oversight, including:
- Core platform and plugin updates
- License management and renewals
- Monitoring for vulnerabilities and conflicts
- Rapid response to potential security risks
This proactive approach significantly reduces exposure and ensures the site meets modern security standards, protecting both resident data and municipal systems.
3. Accessibility Enhancements & Compliance
Accessibility is not optional for public-sector organizations, it is a responsibility. We continuously monitor and enhance the site to align with accessibility standards, including:
- Improving contrast, icons, and visual clarity
- Ensuring keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility
- Structuring content for readability and assistive technologies
- Supporting accessible forms and error messaging
Ongoing accessibility work ensures that all residents – regardless of ability – can access services and information without barriers.
4. Ongoing Support, Monitoring & Issue Resolution
Because the website is mission-critical, Simple Simple provides monthly ongoing support to ensure uninterrupted service. This includes:
- Monitoring and fixing search errors
- Resolving form submission issues
- Repairing broken components or links
- Addressing bugs before they impact users
- Performing usability improvements (link buckets, category cards, icon updates)
Problems are identified early, resolved quickly, and documented, creating long-term stability rather than reactive fixes.
5. Continuous Usability Improvements
Beyond maintenance, we actively improve the user experience over time. Small, thoughtful updates – clearer categories, improved navigation patterns, cleaner layouts – help residents find what they need faster. These incremental improvements compound into a more intuitive and efficient digital experience without disrupting essential workflows.
Impact & Key Outcomes
- A stable, secure, always-available municipal website
- Reduced risk through proactive security and update management
- Ongoing accessibility compliance for public-sector standards
- Fewer service disruptions and resident-facing issues
- Improved usability across departments and services
- Lower technical burden on municipal staff
- A dependable digital foundation that supports governance, communication, and community engagement
High River’s website now functions as reliable civic infrastructure – quietly, consistently, and effectively supporting the town’s daily operations.
Why It Works
- Municipal-first thinking: Designed for residents, not marketing metrics
- Proactive maintenance: Issues are prevented, not just fixed
- Accessibility as a standard: Not an afterthought
- Long-term stewardship: Continuous care instead of one-time delivery
- Reliability over novelty: Stability matters more than flash
FAQ
Why is website maintenance critical for municipal governments?
Municipal websites deliver essential services such as bill payments, form submissions, and public information. Downtime, security breaches, or accessibility failures can directly impact residents and municipal operations.
How does Simple Simple support accessibility compliance for public-sector websites?
We continuously monitor and improve accessibility through design adjustments, content structure, navigation support, and assistive-technology compatibility, ensuring inclusive access for all residents.
How does Simple Simple handle website security for municipalities?
Through proactive updates, license management, vulnerability monitoring, and rapid issue resolution, reducing risk and keeping the platform aligned with modern security standards.
What makes a municipal website different from a typical business website?
Municipal websites prioritize service delivery, accessibility, reliability, and compliance over marketing goals. They must support a wide range of users, abilities, and critical functions at all times.
Does Simple Simple provide long-term support for municipal clients?
Yes. Our approach emphasizes ongoing stewardship – monthly monitoring, proactive updates, and continuous improvements – ensuring municipal websites remain secure, accessible, and dependable over time.
