Images courtesy of City of New Albany
New Albany’s new website just went live after extensive input from the very residents who will be using it.
We knew the City’s website needed to be more aspirational to better reflect our community; better integrated with the City’s social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Nextdoor); and much more mobile-friendly. Additionally, our residents told us they couldn’t always find the service information they were looking for. They wanted to more easily learn about development projects, and they wanted a spotlight on upcoming events.
Check out the new City site at www.newalbanyohio.org and you will see that it incorporates all those suggestions in a more intuitive format with information segmented alphabetically – by the actual service – instead of by the City department providing the service. Your mobile experience, either on a phone or a tablet, will be much better.
Other noteworthy upgrades include a customized, interactive map that can even estimate walking and biking distances from one destination to another; condensed copy that gets to the point; better access to City forms; and a spotlight on upcoming events on the homepage.
The new website is going to be much more than an information portal. Service information is an important element, for sure, but to illustrate our aspirational nature as the best suburb in America, we need to provide a better visual storytelling experience.
What separates good communities from truly special ones is the cumulative experience. It’s not because of where you live, but how you live – quality-of-life items such as gathering places, celebrations, connectedness, compelling design, recreational opportunities and community identity.
New Albany is a beautiful community with wooded preserves, distinctive tree-lined neighborhoods, scenic vistas, lots of green space and an ever-growing Village Center. Our timeless Georgian architecture and classic white horse fencing are constant visual reminders that you are in a different, inspiring place. We are home to some of the nation’s best events and play host to world-renowned statesmen, performing artists and guest speakers throughout the year.
With all that said, though, our best community asset is the people who live here and give back in so many different ways. People here know their neighbors, care about their well-being and want to be involved in making New Albany a better place now and into the future.
To highlight all of these attributes, in the coming months, you will begin to see features and videos about the people, places and organizations that make New Albany such a special place. Residents will find out how easy it is to get plugged into the community, and potential residents and corporate partners will find out just how friendly and welcoming New Albany is in addition to the unique quality of life that is offered here.
After a year of outreach and creative brainstorming, we are excited to finally be able to share the new City website with you. We also understand that in order to stay relevant, the site will need to be continuously updated. If you have ideas for new informational sections, or for feature or video spotlights, please share them at info@newalbanyohio.org.
Scott McAfee is chief communications and marketing officer for the City of New Albany. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
