Hard to believe, but San Diego Metropolitan has created an even handsomer, more elegant and easier to use version of its online publication, sandiegometro.com. Compact and intuitive in its design, the site includes several new features, including a place to sign-up for free e-delivery of the Daily Business Report. The service went live in early January and about 100 people quickly signed up.

While the sandiegometro.com site attracts more than 80,000 visitors a month, lots of readers still want to find a hard copy of the publication. So, for those lacking a mail subscription or direct office delivery, the site has an easy to find “Distribution” link where a drop-down menu lists locations by region. The site remains free, and we’ve moved one of its most popular features, the search function, to the top right.

The fresh design complements the hard copy of the magazine, bringing all the publication’s features immediately to the forefront, including online-only extras such as the popular Reel Story where hundreds of smart movie reviews are archived both alphabetically and by opening date.

“Our efforts all along have been to present a site that reflects what we do in the magazine, and that’s deliver in-depth reports on the people, businesses and issues that make San Diego go,” says Editor Tim McClain who oversaw the redesign. “We’ve done that, and more.

“In this truly cyber age, the digital lifting was handled by our men in Tokyo, long-time Webmaster Chris Latko and the very talented Eddie Wong, the project’s creative director and information architect who studied other business magazine sites and a stack of Metropolitans in coming up with the design. The site is programed in php/mysql by Latko who also is fluent in cold fusion, jsp, asp, perl and lasso. More of the pair’s talents are on display at www.eddris.com.

Latko says the site’s simplicity will allow users to quickly find what they are looking for. “Just because someone stays on your site for a long time doesn’t mean your site is successful,” he says. “Maybe it is because they can’t find what they are looking for. Successful sites are the ones that users come to, then leave in a few minutes. They found what they wanted right away without hassle.”