Elevating the Digital Experience: Downtown Somerville Alliance Launches New App and Updated Website

Somerville, New Jersey, is a vibrant and historic hub known for its charming architecture, award-winning dining scene, and a community spirit that rivals any great American main street. As the seat of Somerset County, it serves as a premier destination for visitors across the region, offering a unique blend of modern amenities and small-town warmth. Whether it’s the bustling crowds at the Friday Night Cruise-In or the quiet beauty of a walk down Main Street, Somerville is a town that truly never stands still.

At the heart of this thriving community is the Downtown Somerville Alliance (DSA) which is dedicated to the economic development, revitalization, and promotion of the downtown area. Through tireless advocacy, event planning, and beautification projects, the Alliance ensures that Somerville remains a top-tier destination for businesses to grow and for residents and visitors to explore.

A New Way to Connect to Members: The Downtown Somerville Alliance App

The DSA approached us in the fall of 2025 looking for a solution to help engage their members in a more effective manner. At that time, the DSA connected with its over 250 business members via a combination of emails, newsletters, social media, and their website but lacked a good real time notification mechanism. They were looking to create a more centralized hub where all the information would be provided but only available to active members. Working closely with the key stakeholders at the DSA, the Info Grove team developed the Downtown Somerville Alliance App. With the DSA app, members have easy access to essential tools, resources, and communications—all in one place.

Key features include:

• Events & Calendar
  • View upcoming DSA meetings, networking events, and community activities
  • Stay up to date with important dates and deadlines
• Member Directory
  • Browse and connect with fellow Downtown Somerville Alliance members
• Business Promotions
  • Access member promotions and special offers
  • Highlight your business to the DSA community
• News & Announcements
  • Receive important updates from the Alliance
  • Stay informed about initiatives, programs, and opportunities
• Documents & Resources
  • Access meeting materials, reports, and important documents
  • Keep key information available anytime, anywhere
• Surveys & Feedback
  • Participate in member surveys and provide input on DSA initiatives
  • Share feedback directly with the Alliance
• Important Contacts & Links
  • Quick access to key DSA contacts
  • Direct links to DSA social media and online resources
• Push Notifications
  • Receive timely alerts for important announcements, events, and reminders
• Member Access
  • Access to this app is available to current Downtown Somerville Alliance members only. 

As with most Info Grove app deployments, the app is available for free on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Website Uplift

Following the successful launch of their app, shortly thereafter, the DSA approached us looking to update their DSA website. They felt their website was unappealing, poorly organized, and didn’t perform well on mobile devices. They weren’t ready for a full replacement of the website and were instead looking to perform an uplift in a cost efficient manner. Furthermore, the website was built using WordPress using the Elementor editor and the staff were a bit nervous about making changes.

Working closely with the key stakeholders at the DSA, our UI/UX team at 14 Oranges reviewed the website and identified key issues. We discussed the website goals and target audience and prepared a few design options using Figma to present for review. Once the review process completed, the development team re-created the website inside a development environment so that the changes could be performed without affecting the production website. The development environment website could then be presented to the staff at the DSA for review and feedback. 

Once deployed, the 14 Oranges team held a few training sessions with the DSA staff to help them understand the new structure and leverage Elementor to its full potential and become more comfortable in making changes to the site on their own.

Both the new app and website update have been well received by the DSA staff and the DSA members. If your Business Improvement Area (BIA) or chamber of commerce is looking for an app or website update to better engage your members, contact us, we would be happy to help.