The Evaluation of Websities of Polish Cities in the Context of their Usability

The main thrust of the paper is related to the use of cities’ websites by local authorities in communication with entities in their environment. The latest literature on the world wide web have been reviewed by the authors and on basis of this review the characteristics features of internet, which are relevant in marketing activities of cities were identified, as well as the determinants of designing useful and attractive website. Empirical study included in the paper is based on multifaceted evaluation of the cities’ websites in the context of their promotional role and communication functions. The evaluation comprised a questionnaire that aimed to answer whether the websites displayed a certain quality or not. Several different criteria were taken into account and they were divided into a few thematic areas: Information about a City with its Address and Telephone Number, Technical Aspects, Website Functionality and Interactivity, Media Relations, Communication with Citizens and Local Community, Communication with Tourists, Investor Information, Additional Elements. The research was conducted in January 2013 and included all the capitals of Polish provinces. The evaluated websites were then placed in an overall ranking that presented their attractiveness, and their positions depended on the score that they achieved during the evaluation. The evaluation results served as a basis for conclusions that were presented in the final part of the paper. The highest score were gained by following cities: Gdansk, Poznan and Szczecin, which marketing activity is perceived in Poland as very professional.