NATCHEZ — Natchez may be approaching its 300th birthday, but its website looks anything but old.

The city website (cityofnatchez.net) recently received a complete makeover.

Ed Bowser, information technology director for the city, said the update was long overdue.

“The website was very outdated,” Bowser said. “We needed a new look and feel.”

To update the website, the city consulted in August with CivicPlus, a government content management system.

When updating the website, Bowser said his main goal was to incorporate more outlets for community members and visitors to interact with city departments.

A few new additions to the site include direct access to city job applications, an updated city agendas tab and a streaming calendar.

The next step, Bowser said, is to include links to the city’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

“Social media — that’s one area where we’re a little behind the times,” Bowser said.

With the tricentennial year approaching, Bowser said having a fast, user-friendly website is paramount.

“A lot of the push for an updated website came from residents,” he said. “People want to do everything online now.”

A new feature Bowser said the city hopes to launch soon is a mobile phone application that would allow users to access website amenities directly from their smartphone. The feature would be available to iPhone and Android phone users at no cost.

“Users could get updates sent straight to their phone,” Bowser said.

Updates would run the gamut of tourism events to unexpected city roadwork.

To redesign the website, Bowser said the city budgeted $50,000. Currently, the city has spent $46,486 to remodel the website and develop the mobile phone app.

Most costs stemmed from site maintenance and design.

“However, as long as we stay clients with CivicPlus, the city will receive a free website redesign every 48 months,” Bowser said. “And we’ll also be eligible for any new module they create.”