The Gulf Daily News (GDN), Bahrain’s leading English-language newspaper, has launched a new-look website with a host of additional features.

The website - www.gulf-daily-news.com  - now includes a Google search facility, BBC audio news and RSS feeds, interactive weather updates, cinema listings and online voting.

PDF files are now available for readers accustomed to seeing newspapers in their traditional print format, while a daily newsletter, delivered by email as a free subscription service, will offer breaking news from across the world. 

Advertisers too will have a greater opportunity to reach out to their target markets through banner advertisements and branding options.

All these measures are expected to significantly boost traffic to the site while providing more content for readers who regularly access the tabloid’s website, says Ronnie Middleton, the managing director of Al Hilal Group, the operating company of the GDN.

“As more and more people use the internet to access the latest news, we are pleased to add value to the GDN’s website, which is already extremely popular and read by people from across the region and rest of the world,” he says.

“The revamp also provides advertisers with a better platform to get their message across to an online audience.”

The website will be further upgraded in the coming months, under a second phase of development, he adds.

The GDN’s website is managed by TradeArabia Web Services, which is a part of the Al Hilal Group.

The technical development of the website was undertaken by TradeArabia’s in-house team of experts, says Rana Lababidi, TradeArabia’s director of online services.

Launched in 1978, the Gulf Daily News has over the years become the voice of Bahrain and the newspaper of choice among the Kingdom’s residents and visitors, with an estimated daily readership of 48,000.

Its website currently attracts more than half a million visitors a month. – TradeArabia News Service