BROWNSTOWN
Explorebrownstown.com is now live.
Matt Maurer of Creative Avenue, a Web development and graphic design business in Brownstown, recently shared that news with the Brownstown Town Council.
Council members expressed their appreciation to Maurer for putting together the town’s first official website.
“I just want to say ‘thank you’ because I was looking at the website, and it is so clean, it’s well built, there’s not too many clicks to get where you want,” council member Bethany Brewster said to Maurer. “I think it’s just wonderful the way you designed it. Even on my phone, it’s formatted correctly or on your computer. It’s pretty versatile.”
The main page features photos of places around town and allows visitors to learn about industrial, commercial and residential offerings and opportunities. Those pages include links to the websites of local schools, entertainment, community groups, churches, jobs available, real estate companies and service providers.
A town map, historical facts and information about the bicentennials of the town, county and state, which are being celebrated this year, also are found on the main page.
Visitors also can learn about town departments and services, check out the latest news and find out about events going on in town. Residents are able to pay their sewer bill via the site, too.
The government tab takes you to pages for the fire, police and parks departments, sewage/town hall, post office and library. Each page has general information about the department or entity, a live Google map showing where it is located and a built-in news feed.
The attractions tab lets people learn about the Jackson County Watermelon Festival, Jackson County Fair, Brownstown Speedway, Jackson County Community Theatre and Brownstown schools.
Town council members’ names and meeting information can be found under the council tab, and the plans are to post meeting minutes on the site.
No community events currently are listed on the site, but information can be shared with Maurer, Brewster or town hall employees to add to the calendar.
Other information can be added to the site as needed.
“This is a fantastic beginning, but it’s a beginning, not an end,” Maurer said. “We’ll see it evolve, and we’ll add stuff. I’m sure we’ll add new features.”
Council President John Nolting asked if the website shows up first if you do a Google search of “Brownstown, Indiana.” Maurer said it will trend upward as it gets more clicks and information about the site is shared.
Maurer also will generate town Facebook and Twitter pages, and any news posted on the town website will go to those two social media sites, too. The town does not have Facebook or Twitter pages at this time.
Earlier this year, Maurer said he would provide the town with an invoice for his work. In his initial proposal, design and hosting of the website was listed at $3,499.99. A year after the launch, there would be a fee for Creative Avenue to make updates to the site.
After that, the town would be offered services at a discount.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”On the Web” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The new website for the town of Brownstown can be found at explorebrownstown.com.
[sc:pullout-text-end]