The big changes that have taken place in Tomball over the past year have culminated with the introduction of a brand new website Jan. 4. The site can be found at www.tomballtx.gov.

The revamping of the website served two distinct purposes, said Mike Baxter, Tomball's marketing director. It provides more services for residents, but it also helps better promote the city to visitors or people curious about what Tomball has to offer.

Viewers of the website can create an account with an email address and password, which can be used to pay bills online, sign up for city notifications and participate in forums on topics such as "Community activity ideas" and "Quality of life improvements."

Another goal was to make the site more visually pleasing, Baxter said. The redesign is intended to make navigation easier by grouping items under tabs like "departments," "community" and "visitors."

"It's not as cluttered as the original site," Baxter said. "It's easier to get around. It's more attractive, more colorful and it looks more professional."

The new site showcases the latest news in Tomball while also focusing on tourism and events. The main page features a list of upcoming calendar events and a photo slideshow from events that just passed. The "visitors" tab links to a Flickr photo gallery with shots from around town.

"We wanted to make the site more useful for people while making it more fun at the same time," said Baxter, who is involved with running and further developing the marketing and visitor sections. "Overall, it's just a really nice package of information for folks who want to know more about Tomball."

Features from the previous website were carried over, such as links to the various city departments and information on city council meetings and ordinances. In the interest of being more business-minded, the homepage links directly to the Tomball Economic Development Corporation's website. There is also a sponsorship page specifically for businesses interested in getting involved with city events.

The site will continue to be tweaked over the next few weeks as the city's IT department adds more options and information, Baxter said.