June 30, 2009, Durham, NC – Indyweek.com, the online edition of the popular alternative paper serving the Triangle, The Independent Weekly, has added a new look to the paper’s blogs using the services of DesignHammer Media Group, LLC. The revised look of the entire website complements the print edition of The Independent Weekly which has been providing alternative news to the Raleigh community since 1983.
Indyweek.com began working with DesignHammer by redesigning their main website in early 2008. The design team offered an optimized layout for new content and focus and an attractive design that was well received by Indyweek. The successful redesign of the main site became the beginning of an entire site overhaul as Indyweek returned to DesignHammer to complete the look with the blog section.
For frequent readers, an immediately recognizable change of the redesign is the consistent appearance across the entire website from homepage through individual blog sections. Pete Weber, Web Director for Indyweek stated the section suffered from issues concerning organizational and navigation challenges. “Our layout was a culmination of items positioned haphazardly wherever we could find space to stick them,” says Weber.
The Indyweek blogs are powered by WordPress blogging platform. As part of the redesign, DesignHammer developers migrated the existing blogs to the latest version of the open-source software. They researched and identified the dozen or so plug-ins used to extend the basic functionality of WordPress to provide just the functionality the Indyweek bloggers were seeking.
The five blogs cover a wide spectrum of topics and provide views of world, national and North Carolina news with local flare. Scan is the music source blog regularly updated by various authors and provides updates on local and national music happenings. For political and local government news, Citizen provides a steady blog recently covering such topics as local transit tax and the School Violence Protection Act, recently passed through the state senate. Triangulator is an aggregation of interesting local blogs that strives to cover local as well as national stories, which impact the Triangle. Triangle Offense and Artery are sports and entertainment blogs providing commentary and updates with a local focus. The blogs can now be found on their own dedicated domain, indyweekblogs.com, with links to the five subject-specific blogs; Scan, Citizen, Triangulator, Triangle Offense, and Artery.
Readers, viewers and other peers in the news industry have responded to the new design favorably, according to Weber. After the project was completed, Weber remarked, “The finished website is gorgeous. It’s visually appealing, while remaining functional and easy to use… The great thing about communicating periodically with the DesignHammer team is we were able to incorporate a trial and error method with certain ideas, features, and products with relative ease… Our site is exactly what it needs to be as a result of the careful consideration and care on the part of the DesignHammer team.”
About The Independent Weekly
Founded in 1983, the Independent Weekly is still locally owned and is now a Triangle institution. Their mission is to help build a community here in the Triangle by publishing the nation’s best alternative journalism. The paper is distributed every Wednesday throughout Durham, Orange and Wake counties; the website provides current news and commentary.
About DesignHammer Media Group, LLC
Founded in 2001, DesignHammer Media Group LLC is an award-winning, Durham, North Carolina based web design and development company featuring advanced planning, repeatable processes, refined aesthetics, solid technology, and personalized service; DesignHammer empowers clients by building smarter websites.
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