Welcome to the NEW Coastal Courier.com.
The redesigned website has a better presentation of news content and advertising, and a vastly improved online experience for mobile users accessing the site on smartphones or tablets.
“Our new website is much more user friendly, and will allow us to do things for our readers and advertisers we have never been able to do before,” said Jeff Whitten, managing editor. “It’s going to be a whole new experience for our audience.”
The new site features auto sizing to fit any screen or device. This means you’ll see the same content and advertising whether you’re viewing it from a desktop computer, tablet or mobile device.
According to Mark Swendra, Director of Digital Operations and Fulfillment, a better mobile experience was a focal point in the new design.
“The new website is actually designed around mobile as most visitors (about 70 percent) to the site use their smartphones,” Swendra said. “The site will also load content faster and have better image and video display.”
The new site will have a continuous scrolling feature that results in a never ending page of information and more news content on the home page than ever before, more photographs, videos and graphics, and new display options for advertisers.
For the next week, the new website will be open to everyone at no charge. After that, only subscribers will have full access to all elements of the site. Non-subscribers will only be allowed to view a limited number of articles per month.
Those with established accounts on the old coastalcourier.com website will need to log in with their email address (on file) rather than their previous user names.
New subscribers can log in with an email address or by using their Facebook account. New accounts can easily be created by clicking the “log in” button.
Subscriptions will be payable by credit / debit card, bank voucher. New subscribers can take advantage of a Special Introductory Offer. Full digital access plus printed newspaper delivery is free for the first 4 weeks and only $1.50 per week thereafter, debited at $6.50 per month. Digital only subscriptions are offered free for first 4 weeks then 99 cents per week thereafter, debited monthly at $4.29. All may cancel at any time.
Fans of the Courier’s e-edition, which lets subscribers read each page of the paper as it’s printed on their computer, will find easier access on the top right of the new website menu.
E-editions are popular for subscribers who want to read the paper earlier or in areas where print delivery is not practical. The size of type can also be enlarged on computer or tablet screens for easier reading.
According to Lisa Sanchez, customer service specialist, subscribers can get help with digital access if needed by calling 912-876-0156 during normal business hours or emailing questions to help@coastalcourier.com. “We’re here to help,” she said.
Sue Nelson, regional digital specialist, believes this will help grow local retailing. “The new website, combined with our Advanced Media Solutions digital services agency, offers businesses new opportunities to reach more customers with a variety of target marketing solutions than ever before,” she added.