It used to look more Marti Gras than maritime, with a bright purple and orange color scheme that overpowered its content.
But Funside.com has undergone an extreme makeover, both in its aesthetics and behind the scenes.
“I think it’s much more reflective of the City of Alexandria,” said Merrie Morris, director of membership for the Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association.
Funside.com, a clearing house of monthly event listings and directories of local businesses and associations, now has a graphically pleasing look — one with more attractive graphics and more reader-friendly fonts. The cleaner design also makes navigating the site easier.
Perhaps the biggest change is in the way information is added to the site.
“Our main goal was to get a database driven Web site. Make it easier to maintain on our end, but also make it easier for our users to enter their own events,” said Laura Rod, director of marketing, who said the redevelopment by a Web design firm began last September.
The revamped site will allow users to submit listings and updated information, pending approval from site administrators.
“Our equivalent organization for Virginia has been [offering] that for a long time,” said Morris. “It’s going to make it more immediate, so if there’s a sudden change in venue or due to weather it can be updated.”