By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Everyone agreed — Benicia’s former economic development website was, at best, adequate. But was it the type of tool the city needed to encourage companies to move or start here?

Not exactly.

So Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani and Administrative Secretary Teri Davena changed that.

No longer a single page on the city’s website, the Economic Development Division has a website of its own, www.beniciabusiness.com, that’s packed with photographs and information.

The site opens with a series of pictures of the Port of Benicia, the Benicia Industrial Park and the city’s shopping areas.

With an eye toward mobile devices, the site’s main page has no drop-down menus. In his presentation Tuesday to the Benicia City Council, Giuliani said that design makes the site more compatible with smart phones or tablets.

Below the slide show of Benicia scenes are sections for updated news items and available real estate.

And because the site markets to people who may be less familiar with Northern California geography, a map marks Benicia’s location in the Bay Area.

A placeholder of Benicia photographs will eventually show business resources, Giuliani said. Nearby is contact information for his division, both at City Hall and through social media.

The site’s tabs introduce site visitors to Benicia, telling them about its deep-water port, the Industrial Park and its 450 companies and its “bayside views and quaint downtown.”

It efficiently cuts to the chase, telling visitors why a business should be started or expanded here, pointing out how suppliers and customers are reached easily by multiple transportation modes, its lower costs, and its quality of business and residential life.

That quality of residential life can be key to a company considering a move, since such changes disrupt the lives of employees, Giuliani said.

Benicia’s low crime rate, award-winning neighborhoods and highly ranked schools make the city an appealing choice, he told the Council.

Another page guides business people to available properties and such resources as financing and employee recruitment programs. Permits and licenses information gets its own page.

In addition, the site lets viewers compile specific information that he or she can reproduce in a company report, Giuliani said.

City Manager Brad Kilger called the website’s development “a labor of love,” particularly for Davena.

And the job hasn’t ended with Tuesday’s presentation — the site will continue to evolve with multiple improvements in the future, he said.

“With many cities, this is where they stop,” he said.

“For us, it’s just the beginning.”