A city-run Web site for area businesses scheduled to launch in June has had UW-Eau Claire students as its strongest “links” throughout its creation.

Six students over the past year helped develop and market the LocaLinks site (www.eclocalinks.com). The site will act as a medium where local businesses can work together and share resource information.

Senior Katie Albert, a marketing major, is an intern for the city’s economic development division this semester. She promotes talks with area companies about the site as well as designing its logo, brochures and business cards.

“We’re still trying to push it along,” Albert said of LocaLinks.

The site requires local businesses to register for a $30 year-long membership and the city hopes to collect about 100 member companies by May 1, Albert said. The site is available online but will not officially launch until June 3.

Chippewa Valley companies can put in requests and offers for resources such as machinery, transportation and warehouse space, said Shannon Collett, MIS graduate. She developed the site for the city in January.

“It’ll be interesting,” Collett said. “I’m hoping it creates a lot of great relationships.”

The idea is to promote businesses trying to work together locally before looking outside the city to Minneapolis or Milwaukee, said Carey Howard, city business assistance specialist.

“We realize the strength of our economy is connected directly to them,” Howard said.

Companies can keep their postings online for 30 days because officials want the site to serve immediate needs and not serve as advertising, she said.

Mike Schatz, city economic development administrator, agreed the site’s focus is for daily use. If an area company needs something shipped to Minneapolis the next day, he said, then it could find another local company online that has a truck with space headed there.

While interning for the city, senior Ryan Heil spoke last semester with area companies about the LocaLinks idea.

“Everyone was excited,” said Heil, an economics major. “They thought, ‘Why hasn’t someone thought of this before?’ ”

Last spring, three students, who all have graduated in the past year, came up with the idea for the site after meeting with Schatz. It was part of their management information systems class, Electronic Business, with professor Dale Johnson.

His class sets three students with a local company or public organization to help it better utilize the Internet, such as setting up an online business site.

Students Jason Duffing, Jennifer Ebert and David Johnson created the idea to help Schatz’ strengthen local companies.

“I think it’ll be a terrific advantage (for businesses),” Dale Johnson said of the site.

For the other students who took the idea and helped develop the site, it has been a good experience and they hope businesses will use the site to their advantage.

“Hopefully (businesses) will see the benefit of it,” Heil said, “and realize they have nothing to lose.”