Check out my web site,
www.cityofwhitewater.com as an example. Overall, I would suggest the following:
- Despite what some people want, an economic development web site really is not really much of a marketing tool. It is a location you refer people to as a means of distributing information.
- Keep it simple. Just give them a taste of the community without burying them in information they do not want.
- If you include any demographic information, try to use figures that do not often change. Companies want the most recent figures, like unemployment in March. I know economic development web sites that still have 1998 numbers.
- Attach planning documents, community profiles, and the like as files for downloading. The information is there for anyone who visits the site, and I have found it is incredibly nice to direct someone calling for information to the web site, where it is immediately available to them.
- Include a section for announcements, but don't overdo it.