Board members on the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau last week approved funding site construction for a new web page showcasing the community to potential visitors.
The borough’s current page for tourists, WrangellAlaska.org, has proven a pain to maintain. Economic development director Carol Rushmore explained that site had been designed some years ago primarily with conventions in mind. The information it does have to share is limited and mostly links over to the city’s formal Wrangell.com site.
“It’s an old design. We can’t get in there and make changes,” she said.
Once on the Wrangell.com website, there is a lot of information for potential visitors to work through, along with notices and municipal announcements likely to be beyond their interest.
“If you go to the Wrangell website as a visitor, you have to wade through the city stuff,” commented Brenda Schwartz-Yeager, a CVB board member. Given the limited attention of online users, a more engaging and intuitive site might be a better fit. “There’s a lot of good content on our site, but you need to kind of ferret it out.”
“You could potentially get lost again in the Wrangell.com site,” Rushmore added.
Setting up a whole new site would be one option, and during its December 8 meeting CVB members considered a quote provided by Aha Consulting, a web designer which has already done work with the city’s website. Under that independent model, users would still head to the WrangellAlaska.org domain, but would be greeted by a more polished, eye-catching site.
The other option to consider would be setting up that domain as a microsite, actually attached to the Wrangell.com site. Microsites are auxiliary to another website, often with its own links and address but accessed through the other.
Wrangell already maintains two such examples through its Wrangell.com. Going to StikineBirding.org will take a visitor to wrangell.com/birdingfestival, and bears information about the city’s annual Stikine River Birding Festival. The other is more industrial in nature, with WrangellMarineIndustry.com pointing visitors toward vessel and harbor services offered by local marine contractors.
Though attached to the main city site these microsites have their own distinct appearance. “You won’t really know it’s part of Wrangell.com,” said Rushmore.
Cost ended up being the deciding factor for the board, as a new site would cost $4,500 to build and $1,000 per year to maintain. Setting up a microsite would be slightly more affordable, at $3,500 initial startup and $600 a year to maintain. In both scenarios the contractor would be able to set up applications for presenting videos, images and calendaring.
After discussing the site, members voted on taking the microsite approach for a three-year contract. Rushmore said a teleconference to discuss site design was being arranged with the contractor, and a schedule for its expected launch date hammered out.
In other business, CVB also will be contracting an updated “by the numbers” report outlining the local economy and demographic trends. Put together by consultancy Rain Coast Data in Juneau, a previous such report looking over Wrangell had been completed in 2015 as part of development planning for the city’s former Institute property. Estimated at just over $9,450, the report would include an analysis on the economic impacts of air, ferry, yacht and cruise travel; spending by visitors on tours to the Stikine River, Anan Wildlife Observatory and LeConte Glacier; summer spending trends; and a look at jobs and wages in the visitor industry. Having an up-to-date assessment can be useful in decision-making and marketing, and can support applications for project grants.
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