HomeWebsite surveys
From time to time, we carry out surveys to ask our readers what they think about about this website and the information it provides.You can view the results of these surveys below:
June 2009
Following a survey in our City Matters residents' magazine, we received 730 responses from a range of age groups. They showed:Internet usage
- 77% of respondents were Internet users and 23% were not
- the main reasons people gave for not using the Internet were that they had no access to computers, they were not sure how to use it, they could not afford it and they preferred reading information in paper format.
Use of our website
- 66% of Internet users had visited our site and 34% had not
- popular sections included events, recycling information, bin collections and leisure centres
- many respondents provided positive feedback about the site and many suggested ideas for improving certain areas (see table below).
Use of social networking sites
- just under half of Internet users (49%) used social networking sites
- Facebook was the most popular social networking site, followed by Bebo.
Comments
Here is some of the feedback we received as part of our survey and how we plan to respond to it:| Feedback | Our response |
|---|---|
| Better links on the site, clearer format | We always try to provide relevant links for our readers, so they can find the information they are looking for on both our own site and others. We clearly label all external websites and state if they open in a new window. All our links are reviewed regularly to make sure they are up to date. Our useful links section provides links to services the council is not responsible for, as well as other helpful information. Please note that Belfast City Council is not responsible for the content of external websites. |
| I would like a comments section where I could email comments about council matters | This is a common question and something we are keen to add to our site. In the meantime, if you have a query about the council, you can email generalenquiries@belfastcity.gov.uk |
| Add more pictures of the city | We update the site daily and add new photography to our web pages regularly. The quality of our photography is very important to us and we are always looking for new ways to display Belfast on the site. |
| Larger font size and typeface for easier reading | The text on our website has been styled using a non-fixed value in a style sheet. This means you can easily change the text size by using your browser settings. Help and advice for doing this is available from the BBC’s My Web My Way section |
| Have good competitions on the site | Many of you suggested adding competitions to the website and this is something we have worked hard to improve since the survey took place. |
| More information on classes in leisure centres. Not enough info - it's very vague at the minute. | Many of you asked if we could provide more information about the classes offered by our leisure centres across Belfast. You can now view more details about our different activities in our A to Z directory of leisure centre classes |
| Would have less information on the homepage | Our homepage has been designed to offer all our readers quick and easy access to the information they require. Due to the volume of services the council offers, it is not always possible to provide links to everything from the homepage. Instead, we review our search logs regularly, assess site traffic and carry out user testing to make sure the homepage provides the most relevant information and does not become difficult to use. |
| Can you list bin collection days for the different types of bin for each collection area of Belfast? | Recycling is one of the most popular areas of our site and many of you suggested ways in which we could improve the quality of the information we provide. We are currently reviewing this section and hope to implement many of these suggestions soon. |
| More information on events - the details are always vague | Our events calendar is updated regularly and contains details of events taking place in Belfast. We try to offer as much information as possible with each listing, subject to resources, and include key areas, such as dates, times and locations, ticket prices and contact details for further information. |
| The site needs to be advertised more. I couldn't find it until I used a search engine. | Promoting our website and making residents and visitors aware of the information we provide online is very important to us. Our web address is carried on all council publications and media releases, while articles in our City Matters magazine urge people to go online for more information. All our web pages comply with plain English guidelines to make sure the content can be used by as wide an audience as possible. It is also designed to be 'found' by search engines and we work closely with other organisations to make sure links to our site are used and kept up to date. |
September 2007
In September 2007, an online survey asked our readers the following questions:Where did you learn about our website?
- Search engine result - 16
- Council publications, stationery or advertisements - 12
- Guessed the address - 5
- Friends or family - 3
- Link from another website - 1
- Other / no reply - 4
What information did you want to find out about today?
- Job vacancies - 19
- Events - 14
- Tourism - 7
- Bin collections or recycling - 7
- News releases - 6
- Council minutes - 6
- City regeneration or economic development - 4
- Leisure facilities - 4
- Local history - 3
- Councillors - 3
- Building control - 1
- Births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships - 1
- Other / no reply - 6
Did you find the information you were looking for today?
- Yes, completely - 16
- Yes, partly - 11
- No - 10
- Not looking for anything in particular - 1
How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the following features of our website?
| Feature | Very satisfied | Fairly satisfied | Neither/nor | Fairly dissatisfied | Very dissatisfied | Don't know | No reply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General look and feel (design) |
15 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Ease of getting around the site (navigation) |
18 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| How up to date information is | 12 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Usefulness of information (relevance) |
12 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Type of language used (is it easy to understand?) |
21 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 78 (41.1%) | 56 (29.5%) | 21 (11.1%) | 22 (11.6%) | 13 (6.8%) | 2 (1.1%) | 1 (0.5%) |
Which of these do you use on a regular basis?
- Mapping sites - 28
- Email marketing - 22
- Video online - 21
- Social networking websites - 19
- Audio online - 18
- Online polls - 15
- Forums or message boards - 15
- RSS - 13
- Blogs - 11
- None - 3
How likely, if at all, are you to return to this website in the future?
- Very likely - 19
- Fairly likely - 11
- Neither/nor - 4
- Fairly unlikely - 0
- Very unlikely - 2
- Don't know - 2
Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied were you with your visit to this website today?
- Very satisfied - 15
- Fairly satisfied - 10
- Neither/nor - 6
- Fairly dissatisfied - 4
- Very dissatisfied - 3
- Don't know - 0
Which of the following applies to you?
- I live in the Belfast City Council area - 23
- I live in Northern Ireland, but not in the Belfast City Council area - 12
- I live outside of Northern Ireland - 3
Additional comments
We also encouraged users to provide additional comments about our site.| User comment | Our feedback |
|---|---|
| I think that the website is great! I use it regularly to find out what's on and just to keep updated. The site is so easy to use and also conveys a very vibrant image of Belfast. | We try to keep our site as up to date as possible. Check out our news section as well as our events section for details of what's happening in the city. |
| I was looking for the council phone number, as the number I have there was know reply. After going on the site, I was not able to find it. | All contact information can be found in our contact us section or in our A-Z |
| Really good site - it's easy to navigate - don't think the Waterfront as your home page really reflects Belfast through. | We regularly update all the photography used on the website, including the images used on our homepage. |
| Great site, really good to have all this info easily accessible in one place. Give yourselves a pat on the back, but don't get complacent!!! | |
| Very nice site. | |
| To be honest, the language used is not just easy to understand, it is in places 'dumbed down' and patronising. | This website is written to plain English guidelines and we have been awarded the Internet Crystal Mark by the Plain English Campaign for clear and concise information. The majority of users find that the use of language on our site is easy to understand, helping everyone to benefit. |
| Really enjoyed the City Hall webcam. | |
| Hard to find information on certain things. | If you cannot find what you are looking for, then try our A-Z section or search facility, available from every page on the site. |
| Search facility for Council Minutes does not work - has not worked for many months now. Searching using the general search option returns results which have apparently been updated the day before, but which are usually many months old. My own search for 'Nomadic' returned results dated 1st September 2007 but which were actually documents relating to the exhibition back in July 2007. Why can the main search option not also have the facility to search through the minutes section? Very poor. | Our minutes system has been upgraded and now contains a better search facility, making it easier to find and track council minutes |
| Today, my visit to the website has been productive but at times in the past I have had difficulty in opening files, such as meeting minutes. Other than that it is an excellent and very beneficial site. I hope it will continue and maintain to progress today's standard. |
