Newspaper Web site changes
Countdown to online subscription service starts
By CHRIS BARBEE cbarbee@leader-news.com

Haven't checked out www.leader-news. com in awhile? If not, we invite you to do so now. We feel you'll like what you see.

Your El Campo Leader-News began offering a Web site several years ago that got the newspaper onto the World Wide Web, but as of this week the newspaper's Web site has been upgraded.

Our goal is to have the most useful Web site available. We have worked hard to ensure the new site is attractive, interactive and user friendly.

In addition, we felt that to provide the service our readers have become accustomed to, we needed to put the entire paper and all of the ads online. The new site accomplishes that, and will allow the Leader-News to start online subscriptions soon.

Currently, the entire site is free, but sometime in November parts of the site will be free and others will not be. Unless readers have a subscription, that is. Archives of previous editions will remain free, but not the most current editions.

Regardless of where our readers live in the world, for just $39 a year they can get the entire current edition of the Leader-News in PDF and HTML format. Our current print subscribers can opt to add the online subscription for just $5.

This new Web site is not intended to replace the weekly print product everyone looks forward to, but to compliment it with new options such as searchable archives.

And for those who have to wait three to four days or longer for the newspaper to be delivered outside Wharton County, for the same low incounty subscription price they can have immediate access to the Leader-News.

While the site is up, tweaking may continue for awhile, but we wanted our readers and advertisers to go ahead and begin exploring and making their way around.

In addition to all the local news found in the print edition, all of the ads are there as well. Ads will randomly rotate on the right hand side of the pages. Simply click for a larger view. You can also browse using the links across the top of the page. This "marketplace" categorizes display ads with specific links for Health, Going Out (dining & entertainment), Auto and Home.

There is also a link to searchable archives of past issues, a feature that will grow as those archives are brought digitally online. Currently eight past issues are available for viewing, from Sept. 12 through Oct. 6.

All current ads will be put on the Web site at no additional cost to the advertisers. With the links and past issue archives, our advertisers will be getting more exposure than ever. As a bonus, if an ad has a Web site listed, the ad will be linked to the advertiser's site. In addition, the ads are formatted so they can be seen by the Internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

It is now also simpler than ever to contact all of our departments, with e-mail addresses listed under the "Contact Us" link. We encourage everyone to start clicking away and participating in our weekly poll.

We also invite you to call or e-mail any ideas you may have which will make the site more attractive and useful to the community and to you, our readers.