Washington County has a new website address (also known as a domain), washingtoncountymn.gov, which complies with Federal Homeland Security recommendations.
The new website address goes into effect July 1.
Old website address: co.washington.mn.us
New website address: washingtoncountymn.gov
The public can continue using the former website address, www.co.washington.mn.us, which will automatically redirect to washingtoncountymn.gov.
There are several reasons and benefits why the county moved to a .gov website address.
- .Gov domains help the public to easily identify official government websites, services, and information.
- .Gov domains are only available to U.S.-based government organizations. This exclusivity helps the public identify official, trusted information.
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) manages the .gov top-level domain. They verify the identity of every organization requesting a .gov domain to ensure that only legitimate U.S. government entities can register and use a .gov domain.
- The .gov domain plays a crucial role in enhancing security by preloading domains with secure HTTPS connections and enforcing domain requirements.
Overall, by changing its website address to a .gov domain, Washington County is creating consistency with other government organizations, building public trust in the website, and taking advantage of enhanced security features that come with .gov domains.
At this time, Washington County's email addresses are not changing, with a tentative timeline to transition county email addresses this fall.
Washington County Library’s website address will not change. It remains www.washcolib.org.
Read the news release.