Online users will now find a much more user friendly site when they visit the new and improved Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter website. The site, located at www.clreporter.com [1], has undergone many changes and is now ready for viewing.
Angie Dodd, owner of Online Design, has been working with the Reporter staff to better serve the public’s website needs.
“I sat down with the staff as a group and we discussed what we wanted in design and function for the website,” said Dodd. “I built the website and customized it to their needs. I also trained the staff and made the site so that it could be easily maintained.”
Reporter staff involved in the project include Jacque Mormann, who is the web coordinator. She is assisted with her duties by Deb Betz, who does the weekly updates, and Kathleen Thul, who updates the Home Buyer’s Guide.
Dodd said that the newspaper staff wanted a clean, well organized website. Other options the site offers is a search function for past obituaries. An updated classified section is another plus, including an email form to place classified ads.
The new site has a photo gallery, where photographs can be ordered and purchased.
The Home Buyers Guide, a publication featuring listings from the Clear Lake Multiple Listing Service, is also updated each month.
Subscriptions to the Mirror-Reporter may also be purchased online. Coming soon the public will have the opportunity to advertise on the site with banner ads.
“I really enjoyed working with Angie,” said Mormann. “She did everything that we requested and more. I also appreciated how easy she made it for us to update and maintain the site.”
Dodd has been involved in web design for 10 years and has run Online Design, which is a home-based business, for the last six years.
“Every business has individual needs and I work with those businesses to meet those needs. I look at the big picture and what will make it easier for them to have a presence on the internet,” said Dodd.
Dodd works with a diverse group of businesses ranging from fertilizer equipment dealers, construction companies and conservation boards, to lawyers and doctors.
“I enjoy the challenge of meeting the needs of individual customers,” said Dodd. “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the staff at the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter and I look forward to continuing to develop and improve the site.”
Dodd and her husband, Troy, live in Mason City. They have two children, Nikolas, 10 and Alaina, 5. The Dodds recently opened another business called, Drag Racing Heaven [2], located at Southbridge Mall in Mason City. The business sells automotive collectibles and gifts.
To learn more about Online Design, visit www.onlinedesign.tv [3]