I have undertaken the task of updating the Stromsburg Info site to use a design based on a most excellent WordPress theme, iDreams, which was created by Templates NeXt. I apologize for any inconvenience this downtime may cause anyone, and I’ll try to get this work done in a timely manner.

Normally, I’d design the site, then create or modify an existing theme for both WordPress (this weblog software) and phpBB (the discussion forums software) to match the site better. This time around, I found a theme I liked for the weblog, and decided to design the main site to match it fairly closely. Marsian at Templates NeXt did a nice job on the theme. It’s clean, simple and effective. And free! Everyone I tossed ideas around with concerning a new design for the site really liked the iDreams theme, and thought the idea of building the whole site around it was perfect for this site. So, once the bulk of the main site’s design work was done, I modified a very nice phpBB style, one FreakyBlue at IDLaunch created called IDLaunch Fresh to match the overall site theme, as well. The end result, I hope, will be a much better Stromsburg Info site with a pleasant, easy to navigate interface. Without the excellent, very professional work these guys do making these free themes/styles/templates available, this job would have been a lot harder and taken a lot longer. The same can be said for the open source developers of phpBB and WordPress. The reliable, high-performance and FREE software that makes my job so very much easier. I can’t thank all these folks enough. They deserve so much of the credit for making this site possible.

The new design is a bit slicker and navigation is improved greatly. It is still a simple design and layout, with a structure that makes it easier for me to expand the site to include new features as necessary. It allows for more advertising on the site, as this not only will allow me to continue providing the website (it generates no income other than advertising) but is a major part of the overall concept, which is to provide area businesses with affordable web advertising opportunities.

Another major goal for the site is to provide people living in the Stromsburg, Nebraska area (and anyone interested in it) a place online where there is a real sense of community. Features such as this news weblog and the discussion forums will allow that to happen, with input from our visitors and the community. There’s nothing magical about the World Wide Web, the site will only grow and prove useful if its visitors and our community take an active part in its development and use. I am always open to suggestions for the site and willing to work with you to help make it a useful tool for promoting activities, events and businesses related to the Stromsburg area.