A Relationship Built on Trust — and a Website That Proves It
Some clients come to us for a website. The Wayne County Clerk of Court came to us for a partner. Over a decade ago, we built their first site from the ground up. Since then we’ve grown alongside them… redesigning, modernizing, and maintaining their digital presence through six major updates as the needs of Wayne County’s citizens evolved.
This isn’t a story about a single project. It’s a story about what happens when you build something right and never stop improving it.
Industry: Local Government
Services: Website Redesign, Accessibility Optimization, Hosting & Maintenance
Partnership Length: 15 Years
The Challenge
A government office website has one job: help citizens find what they need quickly and without frustration. Forms, contact information, announcements, court schedules… it all needs to be immediately accessible to everyone, regardless of what device they’re using or how comfortable they are with technology.
As digital standards evolved — mobile usability, accessibility compliance, page speed — the Clerk’s office needed a trusted partner who understood their history and could modernize without disrupting the experience residents already relied on.
The challenge wasn’t starting over. It was knowing exactly what to keep, what to improve, and what to leave alone.
Key areas of focus:
- Improving readability across devices
- Streamlining navigation to help citizens find key information faster
- Maintaining the familiar structure trusted by residents
The Solution
Because we built the original site and have maintained it continuously, we knew the Clerk’s office inside and out… their content, their users, their workflow. That institutional knowledge meant no onboarding, no learning curve, and no unnecessary risk.
Each redesign has focused on three things:
- Citizens first. Every navigation decision, every layout change, every content update has been made with one question in mind: can a Wayne County resident find what they need in under 60 seconds?
- Mobile compatibility at every stage. From desktop-first in 2013 to fully responsive today, we’ve kept the site ahead of how people actually browse — and right now that’s overwhelmingly on their phones.
- A backend the staff can actually use. The Clerk’s office manages their own content day to day. We built and rebuilt the backend to make that easy, even as the front end grew more sophisticated.
The Evolution
Technology and accessibility standards never stop evolving — and neither should your website. FDM’s long-term relationship with the Wayne County Clerk of Court shows that durability doesn’t mean stagnation; it means building a strong foundation and adapting thoughtfully over time.
Wayne County Website Evolution
• 2013: Original site launched by Web Electronics — simple, static, desktop-first.
• 2017: First redesign — more images, expanded navigation, user focus.
• 2020: Responsive design and modernization — built for how citizens actually browse.
• 2022: UI polish and content enhancements — cleaner layout, better structure.
• 2024: UX refinements, updated visual branding, smoother interaction.
• Today: Continuous hosting, performance tuning, and content support by FDM.
Coming Soon! A redesign with ADA Readiness at the center of the build.
The Results
Thirteen years of uninterrupted service. Zero migrations to another provider. A site that has grown with the office rather than being replaced by a stranger every few years.
For a government office, that continuity matters. Citizens know where to go. Staff know how to manage it. And when something needs to change, there’s a team that already knows the history.
That’s not a small thing. That’s the whole thing.
Key outcomes include:
- Faster load times and mobile optimization
- Streamlined backend management for Clerk’s office staff
- Enhanced accessibility for all citizens
- Continued uptime and reliability built on FDM’s proven hosting and support
Ready to Build Something That Lasts?
Whether you’re starting from scratch or inheriting a site that needs a serious update, FDM brings the same long-term thinking to every client we work with.
— we’ll show you exactly where your site stands and what to do next.
We Don’t Just Build Websites
We build lasting partnerships. Let’s chat today about any of your small business digital marketing needs! From Google Business Profiles to Email Marketing to Custom Websites, we are ready to work with you and tailor our services to your needs.