CYBERSPACE SIGHTING: Michigan.gov helps Michiganders on the go

The official State of Michigan website has undergone a facelift, and the redesign of Michigan.gov is now using a responsive design that detects a visitor's screen size to automatically adjust the full site content to display correctly. This is especially helpful for those who visit the site from a mobile device, ensuring an optimal viewing experience. The number of visitors to Michigan.gov has increased 6 percent over the last year, as more and more citizens are visiting the site to get the government services and information that they need. Currently, the site averages more than 3.1 million unique visitors per month. Over 5.6 million visitor sessions were detected from mobile devices during the first quarter of 2013. "We are continuing to drive efficiency and save time and money for the taxpayers," said David Behen, chief information officer for the State of Michigan. "We are transforming the way government meets the needs of our residents. We remain focused on making Michigan one of the most innovative, efficient and responsive governments in the world." Not only does the new responsive design improve the experience for the user, it also saves the state time and maintenance costs by presenting one single site for all devices. Site managers no longer have to manually adjust content to display accurately based on the viewer's screen size. The site also has a freshly updated theme using a soothing color palette. In addition, social media presence on the site has been enhanced, calendar features have been improved, government transparency and fiscal accountability is easy to access, and there is enhanced web-based communication for citizen feedback and engagement. Michigan.gov has long been recognized for excellence, consistently placing in the top 10 state government websites in the country. These latest improvements keep Michigan on the path to continue the site's impressive ranking. Published: Tue, May 21, 2013