Times launches brand new website

Tuesday evening the Fort Frances Times celebrated the creation of their brand new website with a launch party and open house.
Originally created in 1996, the online edition was in need of some major changes according to Web Development Manager, Lincoln Dunn.
“We had the chance to look at some websites of other newspapers and news organizations,” Dunn noted. “The difference between their websites and ours, at the time, was that there websites were always changing and never remained static. They managed to have their websites evolve and adapt to the needs and wants of their customers. We thought that it was time ours did the same.”
Though there was much discussion about that changes that needed to be made, the final decision was to overhaul the existing site and replace it with something completely new.
“Basically it was like having a broken down car,” Dunn explained. “We could have replaced the motor, but we decided to just go with a new car altogether. With new software we would not have had the chance to customize the site the way we wanted to. Replacing the entire website with a new one ensured that it would have features that we all wanted.”
Among the changes that have been made, customers will be able to access past stories that will be archived on the new site.
“With the old website we used to get a lot of feedback from people telling us that they would like to be able to read a story that had appeared in the paper the previous week,” Dunn stated. “At the time we did not have the ability to archive stories and then retrieve them, but with this new site people will be able to read a story that was in the paper a month ago or look at a picture that was in the paper two nights ago. It is really a far more superior news site. ”
In addition to the archived stories, the new website will also give people the opportunity to participate in a weekly poll on current news events, watch a downtown web cam, and receive daily headlines via email.
“This whole process has been very challenging but rewarding also,” Dunn stated. “There have certainly been some frustrations but in the process we have learned a lot. We are all very proud of the site and are really looking forward to getting some feedback on it.”
“This new website is giving us a great deal of room to expand,” Dunn added. “We are now just in the process of archiving stories. We have about eight years of stories that we have to archive so it is going to take some time.”
With the launch party over and the website up and running, Dunn is hopeful people will take the time to check out the new website and see the changes the have been made.
“This site is going to be very informative and is a big change from our original website,” Dunn said. “We are hopeful that people will really enjoy it and will be happy with what we have done.”