The Dispatch Launches New Site

 

BERLIN - A new day has begun for The Dispatch as it recently joined forces with a leading web development and marketing company to reconstruct and revamp its existing website.

Publisher/Editor Steve Green announced this week the completion of the company's new website, which represents a total transformation from the newspaper's previous website. The site can be found at www.mdcoastdispatch.com, the same domain the company has owned since 2001.

The redesigned site features nearly all aspects of the paper, including the popular weekly photo pages, which were not available previously. Additionally, it includes an interactive forum and blog for user postings; the ability to book hotel rooms online; the option of becoming a member and having daily news updates emailed to registered users' inbox; a unique format for the paper's calendar of events, dining guide and entertainment section; and more.

'This is a new beginning for us and we could not be more excited,' Green said. 'What we have essentially done is create another arm of our business through a state-of-the-art online newspaper website. It's driven by news content, but it's presented in a new platform for us. This a great upgrade for us.'

D3Corp built and designed the site. The site went live last week and is being maintained daily by Webmaster Nathan Brtko.

'The Dispatch has always been fiercely independent. That will never change, but the investment and subsequent partnership with D3Corp made great business sense,' Green said. 'The exposure we get through D3Corp will take our Internet presence to a new level'

Green said the newspaper and website will work together to deliver the freshest and latest news to both local residents and those outside the paper's immediate circulation area.

'Studies everywhere say paper publications will soon be a thing of the past in favor of the Internet. We don't agree that applies to our marketplace. We think both can prosper as partners,' Green said. 'This is a way for us to extend our brand, enlighten users with an increased focus on content and design and alter our business model.'

Other recent moves Green announced this week include redesign of the editorial pages; a new photo page focusing on culture in the area; the return of a weekly business profile called Everyday People; and a new navigation bar on the front page.