Working with Santa Barbara since 2014
Public housing authority
Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara
Our relationship with the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara dates to 2014. The authority's public website is shown in our selected public-sector work.
Visit the Housing Authority of the City of Santa BarbaraStart with the tasks people need to complete
Residents, applicants, landlords, and community partners should be able to tell where to go without knowing the authority's department names. We map the questions they bring to the site, then organize navigation and page content around services, eligibility, applications, waitlist updates, payments, maintenance contacts, and public notices.
When an application window opens or information changes, staff need a clear place to update it. We can build page patterns for program details, forms, news, and frequently used documents, then show visitors which information is current and where to get help. If an action continues in a separate portal, the page should explain who operates it, what happens after the handoff, and how to return to the authority's site.
Give staff a publishing process they can follow
Keep public records findable
Board agendas, packets, minutes, policies, plans, notices, forms, and program updates need consistent titles and locations. We can set up content types and templates that make those materials easier to find and maintain. The authority decides what is public and when it can be posted.
Set roles and approvals
Agree who drafts an update, who checks program details, and who is allowed to publish it. A routine contact change can follow a different path from a change to application instructions or a board document. Staff accounts should have only the permissions their work requires.
Make repeat edits easier
Editor controls can help staff keep page titles, headings, dates, links, and downloads consistent. We document the publishing steps and train the people who will use them, so ordinary updates do not depend on a developer.
Keep the authority in control
Your authority retains its domain, hosting, website accounts, content, and approval policy. We record who owns each system and what access or vendor handoff is needed when responsibilities change.
Plan a migration page by page
Before moving content, we inventory the current pages, files, forms, and links people rely on. Together, we mark what should stay, what needs rewriting, what can be archived, and which exceptions require review. That includes old application instructions, documents with separate accessibility work, and URLs that people may still have bookmarked. Any redirect plan is documented for authority review and approval.
Resident portals, payment providers, and application systems may be operated by other vendors. A link or embedded sign-in does not mean the authority website is integrated with that system. We map where each task leaves the public site, who supports the next step, and what information is transferred. A direct integration needs its own technical scope, authorized access, and review of data and vendor responsibilities.
Test access to the information and services
Accessibility work starts with the pages and user tasks included in the project. We combine automated checks with manual review, including keyboard navigation and assistive technology testing for the agreed workflows. We document barriers, remediate the agreed website issues, then repeat the affected checks and record what still needs attention.
Documents and third-party portals need separate scoping because their formats, owners, and controls may differ from the website. The DOJ Title II web rule specifies WCAG 2.1 Level AA for covered state and local government entities. Its first steps guidance explains planning and vendor responsibilities. W3C's evaluation guidance explains why automated tools alone cannot determine accessibility.
We document what was tested, what was fixed, and what remains. Technical accessibility work does not guarantee legal compliance; your authority's obligations depend on its circumstances and content.
A defined project, with support after launch
Before work starts, we agree on the page and task inventory, templates to build, review rounds, staff training, and launch work. PDF remediation, translations, intranets, and custom integrations are scoped separately.
Diran remains accountable for project scope, implementation decisions, and handoff. The support agreement states monthly capacity, response windows, and approval steps; work outside that scope is agreed separately. See website governance, accessibility review and remediation, and WordPress support for related services.
Talk through the workflows first.
Share your current site, the tasks you want to improve, and your procurement or project timing. Please leave applicant and resident records out of the project brief.
Request a workflow walkthrough