By Bryan M. Gold

As citizens become more Web savvy, their expectations of local government Web sites are becoming more demanding.

People want to get local news and community information quickly and easily—with as few "clicks" as possible. As a result, local government is being forced to streamline, offering more and more services online with the citizens' growing expectation that government Web sites will offer the same easy access and customer service as, say, Amazon.com.

With its database wizards and Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language (DHTML) options, the Microsoft FrontPage Web site creation and management tool offers would-be government Web designers the tools to create easy-to-use interactive forms and data storage to offer state-of-the-art interactivity to visitors long after the office has closed for the day.

Creating a form to collect information

Local governments rely heavily on the information that they receive from their residents. And while jurisdictions protect their residents' privacy—governments don't sell information to any interested party willing to spend money, for example—the jurisdictions don't discourage residents from providing personal information.

One of the best ways to get this information is to create a form in FrontPage that residents can fill out online. To do this:

1. In Page view, on the Insert menu, point to Form, and then click Form.
2. To add more elements to the form, on the Insert menu, point to Form and select the desired elements. This could include a text box, a check box, an option button, or a drop-down menu.

Deciding which form elements to use involves several factors, such as how the information will be used by the jurisdiction. If the jurisdiction is looking for statistical information such as how often a person is online or visits that particular Web site, or demographics about the visitors to the site, a drop-down box is useful because the time elements or percentages provide the person with an easy way to answer the question.

In addition to merely collecting demographic information, local government can offer routine services online. Let's use reserving space in a park/recreation building as an example. A form could be added to a park's Web site that would provide the staff with all of the necessary information. A form for a group or an individual looking to rent a facility for a special event would need to have a number of boxes—text, check, and drop-down—and option buttons. There would be text boxes for name, address, organization name, and phone number.

Drop-down boxes would be useful for approximate number of people attending the event so that the staff in charge of the facility knows how many tables and chairs to arrange. Another use for drop-down boxes would be the event's date and start and end times. An option button would be useful for having the organizer note the need for on-site insurance and security and whether the event is for a nonprofit organization, which could earn the organizer a discounted rate.

Be sure to provide a Submit button at the bottom of the form. In Page view, on the Insert menu, point to Form and click Push Button.

Moving input from Web to database

Once a visitor to the Web site submits the information, it's up to the jurisdiction to decide how that information will be transmitted from the Web site to a database.

To use the Database Results Wizard to set up a transmission or connection

1. On the Insert menu in FrontPage, point to Database and click Results.
2. Click Use a new database connection, and then click Create.
3. Click Add.
4. In the Name box, type a name for the new database connection.
5. Under Type of Connection, select File or folder in the current Web, and click Browse.
6. In the Files of type box, select the driver for the type of database to which you'll connect.
7. In the URL box, type the path to the file or folder containing the database and then click OK.
8. Click OK to close the New Database Connection dialog box, and then click OK to close the Web Settings dialog box.

The jurisdiction will want the newly created form sent to a database once the Web site has a database connection, as this information is useful for the jurisdiction:

1. On the File menu, point to New and click Page or Web.
2. In the New Page or Web dialog box, under New from Template, click Web Site Templates.
3. Click Database Interface Wizard, and then click Add to current Web.
4. Click OK.
5. In the Database Interface Wizard dialog box, select Use an existing database connection, and then select a database connection from the drop-down list.
6. Click Next.
7. Select the table or view that you would like to use for the database connection and click Next.
8. Click OK, and then click Next.
9. Select Submission Form, and click Finish.

Conclusion

A form is a valuable tool for the visitor as well as the jurisdiction. People can subscribe to services that include receiving an e-mail when the Web site is updated or when a news item is posted, or about upcoming or recurring events or activities in the jurisdiction.

Clearly, the ability for Web-savvy people to conduct government business online is a great benefit. Just as fantastic, from the government's perspective, is the ease of use that FrontPage offers would-be government Web designers.

Byran M. Gold is a communications manager for Public Technology, Inc.