Designed by Weidenhammer Creative, the new LVEDC website includes tighter content, a simplified structure, and a vastly improved, responsive design that greatly improves ease of use across all platforms. (photo courtesy Weidenhammer Creative)

For many businesses and site selectors considering coming to the Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) website serves as their first introduction to the region. Now that website has gotten a complete overhaul.

LVEDC is pleased to announce the launch of a new website designed by Weidenhammer Creative, with tighter content, a simplified structure, and a vastly improved, responsive design that greatly improves ease of use across all platforms.

“The LVEDC website is an extremely important tool in our mission to market the economic assets of the Lehigh Valley,” said Don Cunningham, LVEDC President and CEO. “The newly-revamped site puts us in a better position to tell our economic story and to increase awareness of the advantages and strengths of the Lehigh Valley to attract new companies.”

Although the address, lehighvalley.org, remains the same, the new website features improvements to the structure of navigation through three silos, funneling users based on the tag lines “Come Here,” “Grow Here,” and “Start Here.”

This design was implemented after in-depth market research studying mid-sized economic development corporations across the country. The most effective ones were found to have utilized action items in their navigation.

“This new strategic restructuring easily identifies user type and funnels them into the silos in order to create more actionable information,” said Curtis Johnson, Creative Director at Weidenhammer Creative. “This improvement combined with the responsive build and progressive imagery creates a high-level site that is functional and visually appealing.”

“When we set out to create this new website, we had three target audiences in mind; site selectors and business location decision makers interested in locating here, existing businesses looking to expand and grow here, and entrepreneurs that aren’t quite sure where to start,” said Michael Keller, LVEDC Director of Marketing.

“We were able to partner with Weidenhammer Creative to deliver a seamless product that will help us to execute on our mission of marketing the economic assets of Lehigh Valley and acting as a shared services center,” Keller said. “We’re confident this will be an exceptional resource to help grow the number of jobs in the Lehigh Valley.”

Among the website’s new features is the Lehigh Valley Insider, a new blog featuring regional news stories, business profiles, success stories, and insights from LVEDC staff members. The stories on the blog are featured in the weekly LVEDC e-newsletter, released via email each Tuesday. Readers can subscribe on the website.

Another useful feature is the Request a Consultation tool, which helps visitors get the answers and help they need in a timely manner.

The site highlights the Lehigh Valley’s four target sectors: high performance manufacturing, high value business services, life science research & manufacturing, and food & beverage processing. It also includes information about financing programs administered by LVEDC, resources for new businesses and entrepreneurs, research documentation, and information about the regional economy.

The new site is much more visually-focused, high-resolution images by photographer Marco Calderon of local companies within the region’s four target sectors. The website is designed to be more user-friendly for mobile devices, and includes tools that will allow for the improvement of search engine optimization, ensuring that the content will reach a wider audience.

About LVEDC

The mission of LVEDC is to market the economic assets of the Lehigh Valley and to serve as a regional shared services and resource center to help businesses to come, grow, and start here. Our vision is of a Lehigh Valley with a diverse economic base in our cities and countries that enable businesses to come here, start here, and flourish here in order to create jobs and opportunities for all of our residents. Our priorities are marketing economic assets, coordinating a prepared workforce, focusing on city and urban development, serving as a shared services center, providing access to capital, and building our resources and engaging stakeholders.

About Weidenhammer Creative

Weidenhammer Creative is a dynamic marketing agency composed of artists, strategists, code monkeys and typeface junkies, all blended into the perfect formula of marketing awesomeness. Viewing each project as their next masterpiece, Weidenhammer Creative designs, builds and enhances inspiring brands. As part of Weidenhammer Systems Corporation, an IT services firm with over 35 years of experience, their strategic planning, design sensibilities and custom programming capabilities offer world class marketing and commerce solutions. Learn more at weidenhammercreative.com or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.