The northern suburbs of Pittsburgh represent a flourishing community of around one million people, and Across North Hills aims to be the premier source for hyperlocal news and shop local directories that promote the incredible individuals and locations of this area.
Matt built the Across North Hills website with the Joomla CMS and the Joomla-based JReviews directory component. The site, by design, aspires to have a homespun UX - almost a throwback to earlier website designs of the ancient, ah, 2000s.
The site embodies a broader community concept originally pioneered with Across Ross, which focused only on the Ross Township Community in the North Hills. Across North, by comparison, takes that concept further by including its coverage of all the suburban communities north of the Allegheny River. It is the only web magazine that treats the northern suburbs as a unique area.
I'm Running For Office
An innovative advertising product on Across North Hills is "I'm Running For Office". These are non-partisan sponsored content pages that cater to those running for elected office in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh.
These pages enjoyed great success in the last mid-term elections in 2021 highlighted by a candidate for U.S. Congress purchasing a page. Matt sat down with the candidate for an interview to develop the page.
Ye Olde North Hills
Another unique content aspect of Across North Hills is a historic directory that ties to the local shops and services, restaurants, and bars directory. Essentially, when a site guest is perusing listings of current shops and services, Across North Hills will display historic listings of places, people, and things that are no longer there.
