A new look for the Sun online

I’m happy to report that the Sun’s website, wilcosun.com, has received a makeover. This is something our subscribers, staff and others in the community have wanted for a long time. After working through logistics this summer, we’re excited to finally be able to make it a reality.

The Sun’s website launched back in the late 2000s and was built in-house by our publisher, Clark Thurmond. Over the past 15 or so years, Clark and our production designer Matthew Brake have maintained the site, updating content and tweaking things manually as needed.

But, technology and the internet has advanced a lot and so have the demands of our readers and others in the Georgetown community. While our little website has served us well, it is time for the Sun’s online presence to be modernized, expand and become easier for both subscribers and our staff to use each day.

The traditional print paper we all love is staying the same. If you enjoy reading the paper each week when it arrives at your door, nothing will change. If you prefer reading the PDF facsimile of the paper right when it’s available, it will still be emailed out to you as it always has been. And if you like visiting our website a few times each week, you can still do that as well, although it will look a little different.

This updated website is just one more way our subscribers can easily view the Sun wherever they are and on whatever device they prefer, whether that be a computer, a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone.

All of the news usually in the print editions will be available to our subscribers online at no extra charge. All you need to do is log on with your subscription information and you’ll have access to everything we publish in one more convenient location.

Here are some of the benefits we hope you’ll enjoy as a result of the updated site.

Faster news: This is a big one. Our goal is to publish a few stories each day and provide updates quickly as news happens. While some content will still debut in the printed paper, breaking news, meeting recaps and announcements will be online as our reporters cover them. That means getting information out to you as quickly as possible.

A cleaner look: While our old website was simple, it was limited. The new site should be easy to navigate, easy to search, easy to read and should display well on whatever device you choose, while looking fresh and sharp.

Easier to find: Stories published by the Sun will now pop up on Google and other search engines when searching keywords about the community. The new site will also allow you to search for stories using a toolbar at the top of the page.

Shareable stories: Like something you’ve read in the Sun, or want to spread the word about something in town to your friends? You will be able to share links to our individual stories on your social media platform of choice. This is a feature we’ve wanted for years and we hope it helps the community keep up with news in town.

More content: In the past, the Sun only published a portion of the paper to our website. Now, we should have the ability to post everything. Extra content we run out of space for in print, like photo galleries for example, can also be published to the site when needed.

With any change, there will always be an adjustment period. While we hope for a smooth transition to the updated site, we do understand that things may need to be tweaked here and there over the next few weeks as we all get used to the new features.

If you have any questions for us, please feel free to call our office or to reach out via email and we’ll be happy to help the best that we can.

Thank you for continuing to be a loyal reader, and we hope you enjoy the new website.