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All-Elgin website will have a companion free app

An Elgin company is working on building a website that will eventually have a companion mobile app for all things Elgin, from restaurant specials to community events and neighborhood organizations.

Michael Copeland, Internet marketing maestro at Edison Avenue Consulting in Elgin, said the first, basic incarnation of the website elginlocal.com will launch by the end of April.

Copeland, also the executive director of the Elgin Technology Center, said the idea came to him a couple of years ago, and has now become a company project.

He's been focusing on building the website - which will have a strong social media component - for the last month or so, he said. Edison owner Tom Printy is also involved, he added.

While many businesses use Facebook to promote themselves and their specials, not everyone is on Facebook, Copeland said, adding that there's a demand for more centralized information about what's going on in Elgin.

"If the public wants this and the business owners want this, then why hasn't it been made?" he said. "That's what we're working on."

The Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce only lists on its website businesses that are members.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin's website focuses on downtown businesses. Also, its online downtown directory map hasn't been updated since 2012.

Copeland said listings will be free, but there will be a charge for featured posts and advertisements.

"The idea is to have everything," he said. "We want this to be for the people not just in Elgin, but the people who want to come to Elgin."

People can sign up at elginlocal.com to get updates about the website's launch.

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