Fresh Look Launches for Patch Directories — Now 'Places'

Hello, Patch readers, and thanks for joining us for another update about your friendly neighborhood website. I wanted to tell you about an enhancement we've made to the "directory" section of Patch — now more aptly called "Places."

Regular Patch readers know Places is the community's most comprehensive catalog of businesses, bars, restaurants, churches, shops, boutiques and stores. That hasn't changed, and we always appreciate your input to improve the listings in Places.

Wednesday's update includes some new features and a new layout for the Places section. If you click Places in the navigation bar at the top of the page, you'll find a more prominent search feature to find what you're looking for, along with a featured news article that highlights businesses in our community.

You'll also find that it's easy to browse through businesses on the Places home page. Businesses get a bolder, brighter treatment, and you can easily rate businesses you know by clicking the stars below each business. Click "Get More" to cycle through a new list of businesses you can rate—adding more information you and other readers can share to find the best stores, services and shops.

Own or manage a business? Click the easier-to-find link below the search bar, "Claim Your Listing." Give us some information to verify your ownership. Once your claim is verified, you can upload and feature photos, provide additional information and link to your own website. You can also change all of the information on your listing except existing photos, the objective description and the category. Owners and managers can link their listing to their Facebook pages, so they can broadcast updates to 'followers' and more. 

Thanks for reading Patch. Let me know if you have a story idea or an addition we need to make to Places.