Ulster County Website Redesigned to Better Meet User Needs

Published on September 18, 2025

KINGSTON, NY - Visitors to ulstercountyny.gov may have noticed a major upgrade: The County government website has been fully redesigned to better serve residents, municipalities, businesses, and visitors with a more modern, user-friendly experience.

The website overhaul, led by Assistant Deputy County Executive Rebecca Rojer with support from the Ulster County Information Services and Executive Communications teams, addresses long-standing issues with the previous site, which was plagued by outdated content, broken links, and a layout that was challenging for users to navigate. The new site is streamlined, intuitive, and designed to help people more easily find the information and services they need. Several departments with the most public-facing services received a full content refresh, while others will be updated in phases starting this fall.

“The old County website was clunky, hard to use, and something of a dinosaur that hadn't been modernized since it was first created more than a decade ago," said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger.  "The refreshed website is now much more intuitive, friendly, and accessible by users of all kinds, including residents, businesses, tourists, community providers, and local governments. I want to give a special thanks to Assistant Deputy County Executive Rebecca Rojer, who led this massive undertaking, working with the website consultant and dozens of County departments, and bringing her exceptional design and organizational expertise to the task."

Key features of the new website include:

• Topic-Based Service Directories: Nearly 250 programs, services, and resource guides cataloged by topic, such as health, housing, forms and permits, emergency and crisis, business, agriculture, etc. Previously, users had to search department webpages individually to find information they needed, making it challenging to access information in a timely way, especially if users were not familiar with County departments.
• Functional Search: A powerful search bar that helps users find what they need quickly.
• Top Tasks & Emergency Resources: Popular services and urgent contacts featured prominently on the homepage. This level of quick accessibility is especially important for residents in times of emergency or crisis.
• Accessibility & Plain Language: Pages are consistently formatted and written in clear, straightforward language to support translation through browser tools.
• Mobile-Friendly Design: Fully responsive layout for phones and tablets.
• Transparency Center: Easy access to budgets, policies, reports, and public records.
• Local Directory & Events Calendar: Contact info and programming from across County departments.

• Coming Soon: Digital forms, online payments, and a Boards & Commissions portal.

A public feedback survey is available on the site to help guide future improvements.

The project began with extensive community and staff surveys, stakeholder interviews, and web traffic analysis in 2023. Over the past year, the team worked closely with departments to rewrite and reorganize content, prioritize high-traffic pages, and ensure legal compliance. 

“This was a big job — but a necessary one,” said Assistant Deputy County Executive Rebecca Rojer. “We knew from the start that the old website wasn’t serving our community well. Our goal was to build something that’s not only functional and accessible but also reflects the values of transparency and public service. In doing so, we had the opportunity to take a comprehensive look at the many services Ulster County provides — and it was a powerful reminder of just how much our government does to support residents every day. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished and excited to keep improving based on user feedback.”

The launch is just the beginning. Ulster County will continue to audit and refresh department pages, expand digital services, and collaborate with departments on communications planning. Visitors to the new site are invited to share their experiences through the live survey, which will help shape improvements in the future.

To explore the new website and learn more, visit https://ulstercountyny.gov.