First Look at New Neighborhood Website for Germantown

Germantown United CDC is excited to share the design drafts for the long-awaited online business directory and neighborhood website for Germantown, launching in early 2016.

GUCDC received a grant from the Philadelphia Commerce Department to develop the website, which will promote the revitalization of Germantown’s business corridors by formally connecting businesses throughout the corridor and raising awareness and support in the community.

The new website will feature:

• Business Directory will promote Germantown as a great place to shop and visit, and encourage future investment and revitalization of the commercial corridor; local businesses will have the opportunity to customize their listings!
• Suggested Itineraries will guide residents and visitors to points of interest in the neighborhood and highlight nearby shops and places to eat within walking distance from these sites.
• Events Calendar will provide a calendar feature for posting of community events and meetings.
• Resources for Residents & Businesses will include information specific to businesses, and address the needs of community residents.
• Maps will highlight destinations that may not be well-known currently in Germantown.

The Philadelphia-based website development company P’unk Avenue was selected as the firm to assist in building the website.

As part of the research process, the development team toured Germantown, and interviewed residents, the owners of local businesses, and other stakeholders about amenities, attractions, and businesses in our community, and the potential needs of both residents and tourists when it comes to accessing information online. We also held a small workshop with prospective site users at the Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust.

In the coming months, we’ll be working with Germantown businesses and attractions to get them listed in the business directory. If you have questions, or would like your business listed on Germantown’s new website, contact us.

Design Mockups of This Is Germantown

Please note, this is not the final design of the website. The text and photography included in these mockups may not appear on the final website; the images/text were used to help inform the design process and are placeholders for final images and text. We are looking forward to working with local photographers to source photos for the website and businesses & organizations to create original copy that is reflective of each individual business or organization.

(click to enlarge images or view in a separate window)

draft of the homepage

an example of how featured events & neighborhood news will be highlighted

draft of the business directory section

an example of how neighborhood itineraries will be featured – community members will have the opportunity to suggest an itinerary!