The Municipality of Jasper’s new website is now online.

The town was able to launch the new site on Tuesday, and announced the launch at the August 4 council meeting. The website cost the taxpayers about $35,000.

“The community is dependent on tourism for an economic foundation. We wanted to reflect that,” said manager of corporate services Verne Balding. “It looks really great and is a huge step forward from the old site. It’s really quite a positive.”

Still operating under the same address, www.jasper-alberta.com, the new site appeared to have some technical glitches on Tuesday afternoon.

The website offers visitors three different sections, ‘Work’, ‘Play’ and ‘Live’. Unlike the old website, the new site has colourful photographs that demonstrate the natural beauty and various activities on offer in Jasper.

In an interview earlier this year, Janet Cooper, communication specialist for the municipality, said the most important thing for the new website was functionality. Cooper designed the new website

Previously this year, the website was criticized by a resident for not being able to find a bylaw that he was accused of breaking.

“Anything you’re looking for on the site you can just type in the search box... especially things that are more obscure to find like policy and bylaw,” said Cooper earlier this year.

A statement from the town on the site said “the new site offers easy navigation to municipal information and quick links to organizations... enhanced search capability makes it easier and quicker to locate municipal services, staff, and Council contact information.”

The tender for the new website was put out in November last year and Blubrown Communications was chosen – a Calgary based company.

Balding said the new website will provide better service and security to its visitors.

“There were limitations to the features and qualities of the previous site,” Balding said. “The new site has better website security and a higher standard of service.”

The town’s website had been hacked several times during the past 18 months, Balding said, however through the use of a more secure program, that problem has been addressed.

The town’s previous website used free software as a template, which made it easier to attack, he said.

Since the web address hasn’t changed, all links from other agencies will still work, and users will not need to change their bookmarks.

The original site was launched in 2002.

~ With files from Justin Brisbane