Bethalto looks to boost website traffic
Steve Horrell • [email protected]
Published 11:15 am, Saturday, March 17, 2018
BETHALTO – The launch of a treasure hunt on Bethalto’s new website has so far had its intended effect of drawing attention to it as the go-to place for information about the village, says one of the men behind the site, Jeff Allsman.
“We wanted to drive traffic, obviously, and create a little buzz since that and our Facebook page will be some of our main sources of communications with residents,” said Allsman, an assistant to Mayor Alan Winslow.
Winslow announced recently that the village would be launching a newly-revamped website on March 5. Then every Monday morning in March, he said in a news release, an image of the Bethalto History Book will be hidden somewhere within the pages of the website.
The first person to find the image, click on it, and complete the form will receive a copy of the book.
It didn’t take Carrie Whipple long.
She found it early Monday morning, and Allsman quickly notified visitors to the site and posted her name on their Facebook page.
“I thought I had hidden it well, but apparently not well enough,” Allsman said of the quick find.
The Bethalto website is hosted by an outside source, which did some of the early creation and other early behind-the-scenes work. Allsman supplied the content: documents, agendas, business directories, community resources, contact information, and more.
“The website is just filled with content,” Allsman said. “It’s everything we could think of so far. If we think of something else, we’ll put it up there.”
He has also been taking care of the maintenance.
Allsman wrote “The Bethalto History Book,” using old photographs to trace the history of the village from its founding to the mid-1950s.
A sequel is already in the works. It would pick up in the mid-1950s and run through about 2000. Anyone in the area with photographs of the community from that era – digital or print – is encouraged to submit them to Allsman at [email protected].
“We may not be able to use everything,” he said. “But we will take everything and use as much of it as we can.”
Meanwhile, the new website has received good reviews. Other content includes video blogs, community event calendars, local news, online forms, frequently asked questions and a vast amount of departmental information.
“The site is very comprehensive when it comes to the amount of information posted,” Winslow said in the release. “At each stage of development, we’ve tried to build the site with user convenience in mind to provide easy access to information while trying to maintain creativity resulting in a pleasing and attractive appearance. We wanted to engage the user, but still make the site reflective of the welcoming nature of the village.”
The site will be updated on a regular basis. Visitors are encouraged to explore the web site and sign up for direct emails by completing the online form.
NOTE: Due to a printing issue, the second part of this story was omitted from Wednesday’s paper. The Intelligencer regrets the error.
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