If you haven’t visited the City of New Albany’s website lately, I invite you to take another look. Although a lot of the website holds up well from the significant changes made in 2016, a conscious effort was made to update aspects of New Albany’s homepage and maps while creating a compelling new Rose Run Park section that helps bring the newest community asset to life.
One of the first things you’ll notice is a pop-up inviting you to sign up for New Albany’s LIST e-newsletter. If you aren’t currently subscribed to this weekly publication, it’s a great way to stay updated on city projects, services and happenings. After this pop-up, you will notice a homepage that includes new features like city videos, an events section for upcoming events around town, a more prominent “News” section and a social media section featuring recent community pictures taken by residents who used the #NewAlbanyOhio hashtag. After all, the best way to illustrate life in New Albany and the beauty of our community is to let residents share what they love most through their own words and pictures.
The city map was upgraded by adding icons and pop-ups to showcase different community subdivisions and landmarks. Staff also added map overlays for city boundaries, school boundaries, parks and leisure trails to allow users to see where they could access certain parks or trails from their neighborhood or wherever they may be in the community.
Speaking of parks, the New Albany communications team is very excited about the new Rose Run Park page. This park, the latest community asset in the heart of town, connects people to nature, restaurants and shops, civic amenities, and each other; and the web page features a map of Rose Run Park amenities, including areas of special note in the park such as the child nature play area, leisure trails, Marx Library Garden and Raines Crossing Bridge. It also includes photo and video galleries as well as a virtual tour so people can experience the beauty of the park before ever stepping foot in it. We’ve included information about amenities close to the park, too, like the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany, Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts and Charleen and Charles Hinson Amphitheater.
Finally, website users will see a revised “Find Answers” section, an easily identifiable word search on the home page and a “Quick Links” section that provides access to city forms, information about a variety of city departments and services, parks, City Council, and even local, state and national accolades noted by various entities. Additionally, the entire website is mobile friendly, which is important since the majority of internet users are now accessing it on their phones.
I invite you to take a look around the newly updated website and email me at smcafee@newalbanyohio.org if there is anything not currently on the website that you would like to see included in the future.
Scott McAfee is the New Albany chief communications & marketing officer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
