On November 19, 2018, The Village of New Bremen launched a newly redesigned village website.
The purpose of the website overhaul was to improve user experience, implement necessary updates and increase mobile compatibility as more and more users turn to their smartphones to access the site. After months of planning and strategic analysis of the current site’s users, the new site design went live.
Village officials teamed up with Marketing Essentials, a local digital marketing agency that specializes in website redesign and development, to develop the new site. The website is designed to make the site as easy to use as possible for village residents, businesses and visitors to the area.
“Our village is home to a dynamic, welcoming community. It offers exciting career opportunities and has a business-friendly environment. Additionally, it’s part of a larger area that offers a phenomenal quality of life and a bright economic outlook. We wanted our website to reflect that,” New Bremen Economic Development Director Angela Hamberg said.
The website includes a new and improved navigation menu to make it easier for site visitors to find what they’re looking for in as few clicks as possible. One such feature is the “I Want To…” menu, which provides shortcuts for common tasks such as paying a utility bill, reserving a shelter house or learning when branch collection is.
The website has averaged roughly 9,500 views per month so far this year. With over half of those visitors using mobile or tablet devices, it was imperative that the redesigned site be mobile-friendly and responsive. The new site was designed using a “mobile first” approach, meaning the site was designed first for smaller screens, then scaled up for desktop users.
The website architecture was developed as a result of analyzing how current users interact with the existing site. For example, some of the top-visited pages were event pages. With that in mind, the event listings page was redesigned to include categories and a search function. It also features major community events, such as the New Bremen garage sales and various festivals, to make event information readily available to the public.
The site also highlights the surrounding area and features links to helpful resources, such as Hometown Opportunity, the Auglaize Mercer Business Education Alliance (AMBE) and SeeMore.org, a website created by The Greater Grand Lake Region Visitors Center to promote tourism in the area. Visitors or potential future residents can get a feel not only for New Bremen, but the surrounding area as well.
Because New Bremen boasts a strong business community, the site also highlights local businesses and provides resources for those looking to do business in New Bremen. Companies interested in New Bremen can learn more about the workforce, view available properties and explore tax incentives at a local and state level.
To reflect the community it represents, the village site features welcoming language, colorful imagery of local landmarks and events, information on the village’s rich history and a welcoming page for new residents. The menu is broken up into residents, business, government and visiting sections to make it easy for each visitor find what they’re looking for, no matter what they’re seeking.