URBANA -- The city of Urbana will transition over to a new website in three weeks.

The new site, urbanail.gov, will be launched on Dec. 13, city officials announced Friday morning. The current site, urbanaillinois.us, is over a decade old.

Mayor Diane Marlin said the new site was designed to be "accessible, timely, and responsive to community needs."

"It is easier to navigate and maintain, utilizing a standardized template and style guide," she said.

Marlin added that the development of the new site has been a two-year process that started with evaluating how people used the existing site.

City staff in all departments reviewed content and revised text for clarity and brevity.

The project was coordinated by Executive Coordinator Kathryn Brickman Levy and the city's Information Technology manager, in conjunction with the website platform CivicPlus.

"The result is a new website that is ADA-compliant and mobile-friendly," Marlin said. "It integrates with other online tools and provides better access to forms and applications for permits, licenses and online payments. Replacing our outdated website has been a goal since I took office. Like many other things, it was delayed by COVID. I'm very happy that we now are ready to launch."