The Triangle, Drexel University’s Independent student newspaper, has expanded its online presence by developing a new website.
The completely redesigned website was developed and tested in beta form over the past two months but officially launched May 16 during a release party at the Paul Peck Alumni Center.
The site, which was previously hosted by College Publisher, a company specializing in online collegiate media, is now featured as a self-hosted WordPress installation that allows the paper to maintain a tighter control on its online presence as that aspect grows in importance.
“The new website is helping us to better connect with the Drexel community via social media. With the changes taking place in journalism, it’s important to have a strong online presence moving forward,” Laura DiSanto, Editor-in-Chief of The Triangle, said.
New features were also added to the site, including a visual story slider on the homepage that allows readers to quickly access top stories and breaking news from each section of the paper.
“The features slider is a fantastic addition to the site, because it gives us a chance to highlight the most important things that are taking place at the University,” DiSanto said.
In addition, a new story sharing system allows readers to share stories that they find interesting with social sites like Twitter and Reddit, and provides the opportunity to recommend stories to Facebook friends.
This level of social interaction doesn’t stop at just sharing stories outside of the site. A revamped commenting feature allows readers to use their Facebook or Twitter accounts to join the discussion about articles if they do not wish to create an account at thetriangle.org.
The visual design of the site was also overhauled to improve readers’ ability to find stories and to make advertisements less obtrusive and more relevant.
“We are very excited about the new site because it allows us to better inform the Drexel community of pertinent campus news,” managing editor Keith Hobin added.
Although the site currently can be viewed easily on any mobile device, a mobile-specific version of the site is in the works for release later this year. Other features still in developmental phases include more RSS feeds for easy reading and a better way to contact and interact with both the editors and writers at The Triangle through the site.