Daily Citizen launches new Web site

Published 7:10 pm Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Daily Citizen’s Web site, www.daltondailycitizen.com, just got a makeover.

“It is much easier to navigate,” said Information Technology Director Chris McConkey, who has been working on customizing the new platform for the past three weeks. “We’re going for a newer, more simplified layout.”

Users will navigate through the new site using a menu bar anchored on the left side of each page. A drop-down menu displays additional Web pages under tabs for news, sports, classifieds and other sections. The newspaper is also partnering with community organizations to develop a “How To…” section at a later date. The section will contain information to direct users to community resources for questions about everything from where to obtain a driver’s license to how to get electricity turned on at a residence.

Publisher William Bronson said the new site complements the print edition and continues to be the most-viewed Web site for Dalton news.

“We see this as a natural extension of our core product,” Bronson said.

From January 2009 to January 2010, the number of unique visitors to the newspaper’s Web site increased 45.4 percent for a total of 219,834 visitors per month. Last month, there were more than 1.3 million page views from users in 24 different countries and all 50 states. Of those visitors, 84 percent were from Georgia.

Bronson said the new site allows for better placed advertising positions and improved video capabilities for both advertising and news. A widget on the home page of the site allows users to view locally produced videos that have been uploaded to YouTube as well as the newspaper’s Twitter updates.