Radio Catskill has launched a redesigned website aimed at making it faster and easier for listeners to find local news, programs, podcasts, music, community events and ways to listen to the station.

The new radiocatskill.org also puts more of the station’s latest reporting and digital content front and center.

Web designer Mike Hartley, who led the redesign, said one of the first priorities was improving the site’s speed and overall usability.

“The main goal was just something that worked really well and quite quickly,” Hartley said during an interview with Radio Catskill.

Hartley said the previous website contained strong information, but had become slow and complicated as features and content accumulated over time. He approached the redesign not only from the perspective of visitors, but also from the perspective of Radio Catskill staff and volunteers who regularly use the website’s back end.

Hartley, a Webby Award winning web designer who works in both web design and coding, said making sites simple to use is central to his approach.

For him, simplicity does not necessarily mean less work.

“I like simple,” Hartley said. “And simple’s hard.”

He said making a website intuitive often requires carefully organizing large amounts of information so users can quickly understand where they are and where to go next.

That was especially important for Radio Catskill, which produces a wide range of local news, music programming, podcasts, interviews and community information.

Hartley described himself as more of a “systems designer” than a traditional graphic designer, saying one of his strengths is taking complicated structures and breaking them into understandable sections.

The redesign was also informed by research conducted with Radio Catskill listeners and input from station staff.

One theme that emerged was belonging.

Hartley said the station can serve as a way for people to learn what is happening locally, meet others and feel more connected to the region. That idea helped shape how he approached the new site.

The connection is personal for Hartley.

After moving to the area from New York City in 2022, he began looking for ways to become more involved in the community. He said Radio Catskill’s local news coverage was one of the things that attracted him to the station.

“I wanted to do more, get more involved with the community and just know more people really and know what’s going on,” Hartley said.

He said local journalism has become increasingly important as people try to understand the decisions being made in their communities.

The redesign also places a major emphasis on mobile devices.

Hartley said website navigation becomes even more important on a phone because of the limited screen size. The new site was designed to help visitors reach different sections quickly without overwhelming them with information.

Hartley noted that mobile traffic now makes up a large share of website use generally, making faster load times and cleaner organization essential.

Hartley said social media remains useful for generating attention and directing people toward content, but websites offer something social platforms do not: control.

Organizations can decide what appears on their own sites, how information is organized and how long it remains available. Hartley said websites can provide depth and serve as a lasting home for reporting and other material, while social media often moves quickly from one post to the next.

Listeners can explore the redesigned website, read Radio Catskill’s latest reporting, listen live, discover programs and podcasts, and find community events at radiocatskill.org.