Kingston Council has redesigned its website at a cost of £33,800 and claims it will offer residents a more “user-friendly experience” and help make “major savings”.

September 2013: New £275,000 Kingston Council website 'riddled with errors'

The redesign, launched last month, was undertaken to help optimise the site for smartphone use, the authority said, with more than 50 per cent of council transactions now carried out online.

The authority spent £20,800 on design work and £13,000 on behind-the-scenes tech updates.

The last website redesign, in autumn 2013, cost £275,000.

Councillor Andy Johnson-Creek, cabinet member with responsibility for communications, said: “This new redesign represents a significant milestone for residents across the borough.

“This relaunch of our website shows that the council is keeping up with latest online technology and expectations from the public to carry out Council-related transactions with ease.

“In addition, this will help us make major savings which everyone welcomes in these times of austerity.”

The council said people switching to online payments for services had saved it about £400,000 over the last three years.