New Housing Assistance Website Features New Search & Translation Tools

Housing Assistance has launched a redesigned website with new features to enhance accessibility and usability for clients, supporters, staff and donors.

The new website incorporates a sophisticated search tool that will allow users to type keyword phrases to connect them more easily with the information they’re looking for. The site also includes Google Translate, which will make the entire website available to users who speak and read up to 100 other languages than English.

Housing Assistance contracted with the Lowell-based design firm, Tomo360, in June 2023 to lead the website overhaul.

“The search function is brand new for us and will be a game-changer for both clients and staff,” Housing Assistance Chief Operating Officer Cassi Danzl said. “Google Translate will also help a growing number of our clients who speak Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Spanish and other languages to access our information in their primary language.”

Tomo360 is a state-certified Minority, Women-Owned and LGTBQ full-service marketing agency with specialties that include website development and search engine optimization (SEO). The company has designed award-winning websites for agencies including Barnstable County, Lowell Community Health Center and MassHousing.

Housing Assistance staff from every department were recruited to take part in developing the site’s new navigation, provide feedback on early iterations of the design, and curate hundreds of existing pages to prepare them for the new site.

“We took our time with this project and worked across the agency to ensure we were putting client needs front-and-center with this latest website update,” Danzl said. “The result is a website that highlights the broad range of programs and services we provide while also making it easier for those who need our help to quickly navigate to what they need so they can find, or stay in, safe, stable housing.”