In mocking up ideas for our new website we had one overarching goal: combine all of our flagship brands and put them under one roof. And that is perhaps the biggest change you’ll notice at the new flatheadbeacon.com. Here’s an abridged version of what’s new:
• The redesign emphasizes white space throughout, with the goal of making it easier to read and easier to navigate.
• The photographs and ad placements are larger to make the site more image driven.
• Our galleries are displayed as a series of stacked photographs instead of a slide show. This, we think, makes them much more dynamic. Here’s an example.
• We now have a podcast page that archives our latest episodes in chronological order, which makes them easier to browse.
• We’ve expanded our Editor’s Pick section to highlight more of our favorite stories.
• Montana Marketplace is featured prominently on the homepage. Right now, it links to a collection of our Glacier National Park prints for sale. However, in the future, we plan to use the space to feature a curated collection of Montana-made art and crafts.
• Finally, we’ve moved Flathead Living and Glacier Journal to flatheadbeacon.com. This means, along with the latest local news, we will be highlighting our food, drink and lifestyle coverage, as well as more of our strongest feature writing. During the summer, stories about Glacier National Park will be more prominently displayed on the homepage.
• The rest of the popular features on the site, such as the Police Blotter and Reader Poll, remain the same with a fresh coat of paint.
Thanks for reading!