by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Give the people what they want and put it out front.
That’s the philosophy behind the makeover of Downtown Vision Inc.’s website, www.downtownjacksonville.org, and the dedicated Web address for mobile devices, www.dtjax.org.
“The old site had a lot of information, but it wasn’t as easy to navigate as it could be,” said Jessica Grant, DVI web and electronic communications coordinator.
She said a survey of users was conducted to determine what content they most wanted. The predominant “wish” was for more information about events. Now, that information is at the top of the home page.
“It’s about concerts at the Arena and new exhibits at the Off the Grid galleries plus DVI events like Art Walk. There are things happening Downtown every day,” said Grant.
Scrolling down the home page, there’s also information about DVI.
“It tells who we are and why we’re here,” said Grant.
“There’s also a place for stakeholders to report safety and cleanliness issues that can be turned over to the Downtown Ambassadors,” she said.
Other issues identified as important and now on the website are tips for people who want to live or have a business Downtown and information about parking availability and cost.
New features include a redesigned business directory with images of many restaurants, retailers and other service providers. There also are galleries of still images and videos, some created by DVI staff and interns and some submitted by the public.
“The galleries are something we found when we looked at other cities’ downtown websites. There’s a lot of interactivity with video and photo galleries and they give us a chance to really showcase Downtown’s story,” said Grant.
She said to submit digital images or video of Downtown places and events, e-mail them to [email protected].
356-2466