Days numbered for town's much-maligned website

Many say its so ugly only a mother's could love it. (Courtesy screenshot)

MILTON - The town website, oft-lambasted for its user-unfriendly graphics and format, will be getting a much-needed face lift by the end of the year, according to the town's administrator.

Selectmen OK'd the project last month and have contracted with Virtual Towns and Schools of Boxborough, Mass., for development of the website, which will be shared by Milton schools and town government.

"The new website will be more user friendly and more easily accessible allowing residents to keep up better with what's going on in Milton," Town Administrator Heather Thibodeau said today.

Thibodeau said the Virtual Town and Schools web services are used by a host of local towns including Wolfeboro, Farmington and Barrington.

She said the cost is expected to be $4,000 a year for the first three years while the site is being further developed and then $2,400 a year after that.

She said the graphics will be cleaner and the site will be much easier to navigate with more interactive dropdown menus.

"The town is thrilled to be implementing this," she said.