Building a Coronavirus state government website that will hopefully save lives

#wordpress #webdev

I didn't know exactly where my web development journey would take me when I quit my job and started freelancing full-time in June 2016.

I had been doing "tech for good" since 2008 as a digital marketing manager and web producer for a nonprofit. I wanted to get more involved in the development side of things, and I wanted to work in WordPress.

I went freelance full-time in hopes of being a WordPress consultant for nonprofits. I got to do a bit of that during seven months of self-employment, and then for 2.5 years as a full-time employee at a local nonprofit.

I am now working for the Delaware state government after having gotten laid off and then taking a temporary contract to tide me over.

I was told we would be building WordPress websites for state government agencies and municipalities. I had never worked in government before, so I took it as an opportunity to learn something new.

One month into my new job, Coronavirus happened.

Developing a new website for Coronavirus-related information

Delaware Health and Social Services has its own website, and it had information on the Coronavirus along with everything else.

We wanted to build a website that would serve as a central information hub on Coronavirus for all Delaware citizens. This would be a website that's similar to the federal government's coronavirus.gov, but on a state level.

So, my team and I built https://coronavirus.delaware.gov/ on WordPress. I had the privilege of designing the initial layout, and we have been building and contributing to it ever since.

The website gives information on what people can do, information about testing, resources for different groups of people, videos from the governor, and other information and resources.

Web development for good in a time of crisis

I am really proud to be able to contribute to this effort. I hope this website saves lives and gives the message to the citizens of Delaware that their government is here for them and has their back.