Publish Interview with Jim Dickerson of Florida Weekly
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Click play to LISTEN to the article below
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Earlier this year, Our-Hometown assisted Florida Weekly in creating a statewide COVID-19 Business Updates Directory, which was launched alongside a total re-design of their homepage and nine community-specific magazine websites. Given the timing — during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak — it was critical that the project be completed in a timely fashion so that Florida Weekly could establish themselves as a resource for the community and act as a middle-man for businesses to distribute updates.
Florida Weekly Vice President and Creative Director Jim Dickerson sat down with Our-Hometown CEO Matt Larson last month to discuss the project, their websites in general, and their decade-plus-long partnership with Our-Hometown! We’re happy to share some highlights below.
1. From Idea to Website
In the clip above, Jim shares how easy it is to share their vision with Our-Hometown using simple and sometimes crudely-edited screenshots and then sit back and wait for us to replicate that vision online. Sometimes less is more — or as Jim puts it: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
We pride ourselves in being able to take any idea, no matter how detailed, and bring it to reality on your website. The COVID-19 Business Updates Directory, which has transformed into the Florida Re-Opening Business Updates Directory now that restrictions are being eased, began as a concept in one of these simple screenshots. Days later, thousands of Florida residents were using the page to find a place to buy groceries during the pandemic.
2. Modernizing Your Website
Florida Weekly has been a customer of Our-Hometown for over 13 years and while they were one of our first customers to move to the now-standard WordPress platform, their websites were due for an overhaul. Our-Hometown entirely re-designed the Florida Weekly homepage and all nine community-specific edition websites with a more modern look and full responsive optimization for mobile devices.
In the clip above, Matt and Jim compare the old look to the new design and point out some of the features that brought the websites up to 2020 standards.
3. A Beneficial Partnership
Jim describes Florida Weekly‘s relationship with Our-Hometown as a “partnership,” which could not be a more accurate depiction. If our clients aren’t happy, we’re not happy; so we’re always willing to work alongside our customers every step of the way to bring their ideas to reality.
In the clip above, Matt and Jim discuss how Florida Weekly and Our-Hometown work together to achieve the goal of providing a great digital product for their readers. While their print magazines have won countless awards and are a staple of the Florida communities that they represent, they recognize that readers want and need digital access to their content — which OHT can provide!
In this final clip, Jim elaborates further on the idea of our partnership and how they’re appreciative of the service Our-Hometown has been able to provide over the years.
Big thanks to Jim Dickerson for taking the time out of his schedule to chat with us! Be sure to checkout their new homepage at FloridaWeekly.com, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us at ops@our-hometown.com if you’re interested in re-designing your own website!
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