Online News changes
By Melinda L. Lucas
Subscribers to the digital version of The Albany News most likely have noticed recent changes in the appearance of the online website and the functionality of the facsimile or PDF version of the weekly editions of the newspaper.
The internet editions of the News, found at thealbanynews.net, are now being hosted by e-Type Newspaper Services and will provide subscribers with a host of updated services. The change was effective with the Thursday, June 28 edition of the newspaper.
“We were notified in May that the company that has hosted our web presence would be closing that portion of their business by July 1, so we began the search for a new online host,” publisher Donnie Lucas said. “We chose e-Type Services because of their excellent reputation in the industry and because they are a Texas-based company that already hosts several hundred Texas newspapers.”
Lucas said that another determining factor was additional updated services e-Type Services offers online customers.
“One of the main improvements comes in the way of customer service for what will now be known as the e-edition, or the PDF replica of each issue,” Lucas said. “Subscribers will now be able to contact e-Type Services directly if they are having issues logging in to their account. Their staff will be able to respond much more quickly than we have been able to in the past.”
Customers who email the company with an issue will usually receive a reply in a matter of minutes unless it is after normal business hours.
“There have been a few issues here and there, but for the most part it seems that the transition has gone smoothly,” Lucas said. “I think digital subscribers will see a substantial increase in customer service.”
Another feature that is expected to be extremely useful for subscribers is the search capabilities that are offered.
There is a search bar at the top of the website where subscribers can enter any name or term they choose and a list of all stories pertaining to the request will be immediately displayed.
Lucas said that the new host will also provide enhanced opportunities for online advertisers.
“We have a lot of options now allowing us to place ads in particular locations on the website or to randomly rotate them throughout the site,” Lucas said. “We are concentrating on getting bugs out pertaining to news content first, but we will be able to offer advertisers more choices as well.”
Anyone with an issue involving the new website is urged to report the problem to e-Type via email.
“If there continues to be a problem, please email or call us at the News office so we can investigate,” Lucas said. “We want this to be a big step forward for our online presence, so we have to know if anyone experiences problems.”
