As the East Valley struggles to get back on its economic feet, those leading the charge would do well to listen more to Christine Mackey and less to Joan Krueger.

No disrespect intended toward Gilbert Vice Mayor Krueger. Her heart is in the right place.

But Mackey, acting economic development director for the city of Chandler, is using her head, and who can argue with a 10-year economic development pro in a city that boasts the highest employee wages in the state?

Businesses that plan to relocate or expand into a different city begin with that city’s Web site, according to Mackey, so it had better be good.

It used to be that officials knew that a business had penciled their city on a list of possible development sites when a request for information came in. That inquiry signaled the opportunity to make a good first impression.

In the digital age, your Web site has already made that first impression.

“We always used to know who was interested in us,” Mackey said.

But now, “you’ve been short-listed or tossed off the list prior to any contact (from a business) based on your Web site,” she said.

“It’s a whole new ball game. We have to showcase ourselves in electronic form,” Mackay said.

So what’s this got to do with Gilbert councilwoman Krueger.

What got my attention was a comment she made in a recent Tribune story about economic development in Gilbert.

Krueger said she agreed with Mayor Steve Berman that more aggressive business development efforts are needed. To do that, she emphasized “well-connected” economic development board members and skilled town staff.

Both are important, of course, but Krueger should also take a good look at the town’s business development Web site.

If the site is a display window on Gilbert’s business development opportunities, well, town leaders will never know the connections they didn’t make. It’s cluttered and not inviting. Take a look for yourself. Here’s a link:

http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/busdev/default.cfm

Chandler’s economic development Web site features photos of three developments or development opportunities. The photos are the site’s focal point and rotate continuously. The site is clean and functional, but it’s not up to Mackay’s standards.

She said the site is being revamped. “Our idea is to create a picture,” she said.

Here’s a link to the current site. It is clearly more visual:

http://www.chandleraz.gov/default.aspx?pageid=303

Tempe has one thing going for it that Chandler doesn’t: video.

As soon as you link on the site, a video of Mayor Hugh Hallman starts playing. He’s a spin master, as well he should be. The video is nifty touch.

The site is jammed with information, maybe too jammed. And it’s odd that the actual video of Hallman is on the lower left hand side of the page.

So when you first launch Tempe’s economic development site, you hear a voice but have to scroll down the page to see whom the voice belongs to. Take a look:

http://www.tempe.gov/Business/

How about Scottsdale’s site? Nice color scheme, as you might expect. It’s minimal. Maybe with the Scottsdale brand, it’s good enough. Here’s the link. You be the judge:

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/departments/Economics.asp

In Mesa, Mayor Scott Smith and economic development director Bill Jabjiniak have put a high priority on job development and that is an important first step.

But the next step should be the city’s economic development Web site. The site should reflect a city that has joined the big leagues in population is full of opportunity.

The site should be dynamic and functional. It is neither.

Take a look, but don’t try to figure out the interactive maps—unless you have a lot of time on your hands:

http://www.cityofmesa.org/economic/

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