The launch of thisishullandeastriding is the first phase of a rollout programme across the whole of Northcliffe.

The roll-out will be completed by the autumn and will see the company's family of local and hyperlocal thisis sites grow from 56 to 87.

The emphasis for this next evolution of the sites has been on stability and performance with search engines.

A number of functionality improvements have also been introduced and fully-specified mobile versions of the sites will be available for the first time. Speed of page loading for users will also improve.

Mail editor John Meehan said: "The new-look site is much easier on the eye, using more white space to help create an open feel. Navigation, including the content tabs across the top of the site, has been greatly improved to help you find what you want more easily.

"The stories are also edited specially with web users in mind and will carry more photos and related content, giving you more breadth and depth to each story."

For the journalists, the coupling of the new platform with an ArticlesPlus upgrade to local Tera management system means even greater local control to differentiate content for the web.

It allows easier addition of multimedia content or web-specific copy/headlines, as well as allowing precision local control of publication time online on a story-by-story basis.

The new sites are driven by a Web Publishing System that has been built by Associated Northcliffe Digital, who will also host it and the websites.

Unique visitors to the thisis network are growing at more than 50 per cent a year and in March topped 2.6m.

They have helped Northcliffe reach a record number of adults – 4.7m per month – across all its print and online operations and digital revenues are up by 90 per cent year-on-year.

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