Online market website eMoo has undergone improvements and upgrades to increase its appeal, functionality and reach.

The e-commerce site was launched in 2003 and provides a platform for buying and selling second-hand goods including vehicles and boats, advertising yard sales and real estate for sale and rent, together with advertising services, employment opportunities and community notices.

More than one million items have been shared on the platform during the past 16 years and the website is among the top five most visited local sites in Bermuda.

The site has now undergone developments to improve functions, ease of use, and how it interacts with new technology and social media.

Jonathan Howes, chief executive officer of Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd and eMoo, said: “As great as eMoo was to those who used the site on a regular basis and knew the navigation by heart, there were a lot of areas that needed improvement that people had not noticed simply because they were used to it the way it was.”

The site was moved to a new platform, which allowed for better categorising, mapping and searching abilities.

Acknowledging that there had been initial glitches that needed to be fixed on the new platform and the daily mailer service, Mr Howes said: “It’s taken some diligent effort from the eMoo team to tweak those inconsistencies to the point where it is today. Change is always difficult, but in most cases, necessary — and that was exactly the case with the evolution to eMoo 2.0.”

The site has been streamlined and includes intuitive design features. It is also now possible for users to post an advert directly from their mobile device.

In addition, improvements have made the website faster to download, while the eMoo daily newsletter has been revamped. The newsletter features items advertised on the site and is e-mailed to more than 10,000 recipients.

Packages are available for enhanced placement of adverts, such as ensuring they appear at the top of search lists, or on eMoo’s Facebook page.

The site receives more than 300,000 impressions each month and has about 14,000 monthly users.

Michael Grier, eMoo’s commercial director, speaking about the improvements, said: “It’s a much better experience for users.”

He added: “We are aware of the challenges a new site brings and that social media marketplaces now facilitate a lot of second-hand exchanges among Bermudians, but it’s easy to see that eMoo differs from social media with an indexed experience and a platform that monitors security for its users making it the go-to trader site on island.”

Mr Grier said that with the ongoing changes and improvements “it’s expected that eMoo will continue to be one of the most loved brands and websites on the island, not to mention the only one-stop shop for anyone involved in a move or simply looking to check off a task on their to-do list”.

• Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd, which owns eMoo, is also the owner of The Royal Gazette. The eMoo website is at www.emoo.bm