Welcome to the Juneau Empire’s new website.

We are thrilled today to unveil a new look, which we think is cleaner, sleeker and more user-friendly than ever before.

The change is part of the Empire’s transition with new owners Sound Publishing Inc., which bought the Empire, the Capital City Weekly and other sister publications across the state in May. The website platform has changed from Drupal to WordPress, to be in line with Sound Publishing technology. The url remains the same: www.juneauempire.com.

The first thing you might notice about the new site is that it’s very visual, and photographs appear bigger than before, even on multiple platforms including iPads and smart phones. We think readers will enjoy being able to see more of the great art that we create and share here.

Another feature we are proud about is that the new site should be easier to navigate, with less clicking needed to access articles you want to read. Plus, there will be less noise to distract you. All videos must viewable to start playing, and the audio is off by default until clicked on.

Readers can comment directly on the website, through Disqus, rather than Facebook. The comment policy has not changed, as we do not allow for anonymous comments and we expect civility from those who post online.

The site and content itself should be familiar to most of our subscribers, as the sections of the newspaper have not changed, and it still has the former e-editions.

Although things will look differently online now, some things will never change: The Empire’s devotion to reporting the local news, and telling stories that matter to our community members.

Have feedback about the new site? Feel free to contact our office at (907) 586-3740.

(Note: Can’t see the new website yet? It is being unrolled at varying times depending on the machine you are using. Check back later on Thursday or Friday if you aren’t able to view it yet.)