The Wrangell Sentinel’s new website went live this week, providing bigger photos, easier-to-read headlines and new features.

Even better, the website will be free — no paywall — for the next few weeks to introduce more people to Wrangell’s 123-year-old newspaper.

“It was long past the time to make changes to the site,” said Larry Persily, who has owned the Sentinel since January 2021. “As more people get their news online rather than in print, we want to make wrangellsentinel.com easier to use.”

The redesigned site should be easier to read, whether viewed on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

Among the new features is an improved community calendar: People can enter in the information for their event, hit the “Submit” button and Sentinel staff will proofread the listing, posting it to the website immediately — no more needing to wait for the next print edition.

The new site also includes a link to the Wrangell newspapers digital archives that go back to the first papers in the community, providing a free service for anyone who wants to search the pages for family news, community history — most anything. The archives are maintained by the Irene Ingle Public Library.

The Sentinel has more changes coming, including a free e-mail news alert service.

“As long as we’re making changes to modernize the Sentinel, no reason to stop at just one or two,” Persily said.