The Business Council has upgraded its Web site, www.bcnys.org, adding new content and changing its design to make it even easier to navigate.

The redesign reflects the opinions expressed to the Council through a membership survey conducted in the fall.

“Members told us they’d like to see the site offer more New York State governmental and business news,” said Linda Costello, the Council’s manager of web development. “The Web site has new sections devoted to the top state and business stories of the day.”

The design, which was developed by Council member Eric Mower and Associates, has a cleaner, more consistent look that makes it easier for users to get quick, direct access to more of the site's content, Costello added.

The new homepage features rotating pictures of people, places and things across the state. The pictures were supplied by Council staff and member chambers of commerce.

Below the rotating pictures, users can find news and reports from The Business Council, which will be updated on a daily basis, Costello said. The center column, which Council staff will also update throughout the week, includes New York stories from papers across the state as well as news from the Council member companies.

The sidebar on the homepage features links to the Council's affiliate Web sites as well as a new graphic element which depicts the latest New York job numbers, this will also be updated regularly.

The bottom of the Web site shows the logos of the Council's largest corporate members, including CitiGroup, Inc., Eastman Kodak Company, General Electric Company, Verizon Communications and Xerox Corporation.

The redesign also features a streamlined events page. This page will feature upcoming Council conferences and receptions in addition to information on upcoming committee meetings. Members will more easily be able to identify events and meetings they would like to attend, along with sponsorship and registration information.

The project was led by Costello, who personally migrated nearly 4000 pages to the new web site. She worked closely on the design with a four-person team from Eric Mower and Associates, that included Bob Hite, Katie Regan, Mike Bleser and Jim Henderson.

Costello said the Council will continue to update its Web site daily. Information provided on the site includes:

• News stories and press releases from The Business Council.
• The Council's complete legislative agenda, including detailed descriptions of The Council's positions on specific legislative proposal.
• Complete research reports by the Public Policy Institute, the research affiliate of The Business Council.
• A calendar of coming events, including both detailed agenda information and on-line registration forms.
• Information on programs and products offered by The Business Council Insurance Fund, as well as other benefits of Council membership.
• A staff directory for The Council, complete with phone numbers and e-mail addresses of Council staff members.
• A powerful "search-this-site" feature and an alphabetical site index.
• Information on New York State, and links to many other sites of interest.

If you wish to comment or grip, or have a suggestion on our new web site or for anything else, we would love to hear from you, contact Linda, or anyone else on the Council's staff.

This is just a beginning, watch for more good things to come!