JOHN DAY — A website designed to introduce non-residents to John Day and the surrounding communities went live at the end of March. The website was designed by Portland studio Straw to Gold as a way to give people who may find themselves in the region information on the outdoor and indoor activities the area has to offer.

The website is named discoverjohnday.com, but it covers the entire county. Along with amenities in John Day, the website highlights features outside the city including the John Day Fossil Beds and Magone Lake, and it informs visitors about various mountain biking, hiking and ATV trails throughout Grant County.

Cost to the city for creation of the website was $25,000. City Manager Nick Green says those costs cover the website itself as well as video content collected over multiple visits during the past year.

Straw to Gold’s Benjamin Ariff says the website’s purpose is to connect people with the various recreational and economic opportunities that could make the region attractive, both to visitors and potential permanent residents. “There is a lot of content on the website that is really meant to interact with people from outside the region,” according to Ariff.

The catalyst for building the website came in the form of a meeting between Green and Ariff a few years ago. The two discussed the path the city was on and some of the projects and new development starting to take shape in the region.

After a number of conversations, the website emerged as a tool to promote some of the work being done in John Day. Grant County is the only county in Oregon with a declining population, and the city’s goal is to try to stimulate growth.

“Maybe people will look at this website and decide they want to visit and spend dollars here, possibly move their family here and put their kids in school, maybe open a business,” Ariff said.

Ariff says this project was “much more intimate” than other projects he’s worked on given the size of the town and many of the community members coming out to show their support for the work that went into constructing the website. “There was a lot of excitement within the community,” Ariff said.

The project was challenging but Ariff says that is because there is so much within the region to showcase.

“John Day is the prefect base camp,” he said. “You get into the city and there is so much going on, but within an hour of the city there is just so much to do. I think we identified over 30 things you can do depending on your interests.”

Ariff says his team would consider the website a success if it becomes a tool for new people to become informed about what John Day has to offer. “We want people to see and understand the possibilities and take the next step.” Those next steps could be anything from deciding to vacation in Grant County to visiting a local business or maybe even moving their business here.

“The website is very friendly and digestible,” Ariff said. “It doesn’t use the typical marketing language other websites use. That is how we wanted to present John Day and the region.”

Ariff says the website took more than a year to develop and is mostly driven by video content. The intention is to continue to develop the site and keep information on the site in line with ongoing projects in the area.

“This is one of the most fun projects I’ve ever done,” he said. “Really friendly and accommodating people. I feel really connected to the city, and it doesn’t always work out that way.”