Local digital firm bv02 behind dynamic new website intheglebe.ca

By Trevor Greenway

Deciding what to eat, what to buy or what to do in the Glebe has never been easier.

All one needs to do is visit the website launched by the Glebe BIA at www.intheglebe.ca to find everything you’re looking for in the neighbourhood, everything from events to our great array of unique shops to the dozens of fantastic restaurants in the area.

The concept behind the new website is to capture the total Glebe experience and local digital agency bv02 has built a top-notch, mobile-friendly access point that is informative, dazzling and easy to use.

Right from the landing page, users are encouraged to “plan your day in the Glebe” with Dine, Shop and Events options. Users can simply use the drop-down menus to search through categories or locate a specific restaurant, shop or event.

“The Glebe is a unique place that draws many people to discover the various shops, events and restaurants,” said bv02 user-experience designer Gary Jansz, the project lead on the Glebe’s new website project. “Based on that, we came up with the concept of ‘Planning Your Day In The Glebe’ by giving users custom search and mapping features to make discovery of the Glebe more fun and intuitive. Creating a site that was mobile first was also key to bridging the gap between the offline world and the online world.”

The new site features merchant pages for every single business in the Glebe. Visitors can access detailed information about each enterprise including their hours of operation and location and you can even browse their current promotions. The site also links to each business’s social channels, so staying connected has never been easier.

But the site is much more than a listing of Glebe businesses. It was important for merchants, in consultation with bv02, to be able to tell their story, where they came from and what they stand for. The new Glebe website is more than just a site, it’s a quick glimpse into life through the lens of someone lucky enough to live here.

“For the Glebe merchants, we really wanted to provide them with the ability to tell their own stories,” added Jansz. “Each merchant has their own unique page on the site where they can showcase promotions, provide advanced mapping and search functionality and simple storytelling devices that give visitors that extra glimpse into the area merchants.”

The Store Promotions page provides a one-stop listing of specials and is a key aspect that gives merchants the power to share incentives with patrons. And because it’s merchant driven, new specials will pop up all the time, giving customers an array of deals they can take advantage of close to home.

Compact Music owner Ian Boyd sees the thousands of consumers strolling past his door and says the new website features, including the promotions page, is an innovative way of getting more shoppers into our local stores. “The new site encompasses the entire Glebe. We need to promote the Glebe as a shopping area as a whole, not as individual stores,” said Boyd, explaining that if a nearby store has a good business day, the trickle-down effect will eventually lead to him. He believes in the big picture. “People are not going to go out of their way to shop at a music store. We have to capitalize on the people who are in the area, whether they live here or not, and that’s what this site does.”

Boyd says the site is easy to use from a merchant’s point of view and helps him reach a broader audience than before. All he has to do is “put up a promotion every once in a while” and the site does the rest of the work for him.

Users will also find the events calendar invaluable, as it provides a snapshot of everything going on in the area at any point in time; families won’t miss any community days, movie nights or free outdoor concerts; and sports and music fans will always know what’s coming up. The events calendar is your guide to what’s happening throughout the Glebe and at Lansdowne and a great tool to stay on top of programming like Marvest – your opportunity to catch more than 50 local bands playing in non-traditional venues along Bank Street. Bookmark our site for the September festival and you won’t miss these great acts.

“We wanted to give the community an online point of access for the Glebe,” said Andrew Peck, Glebe BIA Executive Director. “And this site does exactly that. With everything at their fingertips, people can easily find what they need while discovering the tremendous amount the neighbourhood has to offer, especially its unique shops, services and restaurants.”

The site also gives anyone the opportunity to add an event and promote it through our Create-an-Event form. If the event is open to the public, simply fill out the form and it will be posted on our calendar, available to all. It’s that simple.

The site also provides complete parking information, historical tidbits for keeners and stunning visuals that help capture the true essence and character of this special area.

So, what are you going to do today? Visit www.intheglebe.ca and start exploring.

Trevor Greenway is communications and membership engagement officer at the Glebe BIA (Business Improvement Area).