Claresholm town council learns more about new town website

By Rob Vogt
The Town of Claresholm has launched an updated website with new features.
Town council got a sneak peak at its Feb. 23 meeting from Ali Hemmaway, the town’s economic development coordinator, who took them through the new website.
She also submitted a written report to council.
That report explained the new Town of Claresholm website, hosted by Loop, was to launch on Feb. 25.
Along with the website the town will also launch an app for easier access on mobile devices, which will allow users to receive important notifications, such as fire advisories or bans.
This will be available after launch once it is approved through the app store.
Old bookmarks may not work, and it may take some time for residents to see the new site properly based on browser and caching settings.
It also takes time for search engines to index the updated site and information.
Information about the launch and the new website has been advertised through Town News in the Claresholm Local Press, through an economic development bulletin, as well as through a Facebook post to the Town of Claresholm page, which was shared to the Claresholm Community and Claresholm Business Hub Facebook groups.
This information will also be included in the utility newsletter going out in March. More posts introducing specific new features will be sent out following launch.
The development of this website has been ongoing since the town was successful in receiving the Small Community Opportunities Program Grant, which funds 90 per cent of the costs for the website, with 10 per cent funded by the Town of Claresholm which was within the regular budget.
The goals of this grant and project are to strengthen Claresholm’s local economy by enhancing visibility and support for businesses, promoting tourism and events, and fostering community partnerships.
Further goals are to provide easy access to resources, real-time information, streamlined navigation to attract investment, and support sustainable growth, creating a more connected and informed community.
Through design the town focused on making the website accessible to users, as well as easily editable to ensure information remained up to date and evolved to reflect the growing and vibrant nature of the town. To address key economic development and community connection goals, several pages have been added to the website to provide a more comprehensive one stop shop for residents and visitors as well as businesses and investors.
This includes the updated Economic development; chamber of commerce; business supports and tools directory pages, and the newly-added opportunities for growth; labour resources; and tourism and events pages.
Other updates and features include an attractive and editable home page with quick links and highlights of the most utilized pages; a community calendar with a form for submissions; and an updated business directory.
The remainder of pages have also been reviewed and updated with current information.
One of the most important benefits and goals of this project is the back-end editing, which will allow the website to be easily edited, updated, and changed.
When a website adapts and reflects the dynamic nature and current events of the town, residents will be more likely to return to the website to stay up to date, encouraging a better relationship of information sharing and positioning the website as a trusted source of information.