The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association recently rolled out the first of two phases of its revamped website.

The first phase incorporates four brand-new features aimed at bringing more clarity and ease of use for NIADA dealer members and association service providers. They include:

—More user-friendly site interface and navigation.

—The entire NIADA membership roster is now included on the home page via a state map, and soon all dealer members can opt-in to add more contact info to their online membership listing.

—All 20 state magazines that NIADA publishes can now be viewed on the new website, inclusive of advertisements. NIADA said these magazines also will be archived on the site, and each state association website will have a direct link as well.

—NIADA national corporate partners will soon be able to show a company or product-specific video with their national corporate partner description.

NIADA indicated the second phase of its website revamp should be completed in December.

Among the highlights are a “virtual expo” section contained with the Convention & Expo segment of the site. The association explained companies may pick and choose their booth locations and complete all forms, paperwork and payment online directly from the new NIADA website. Also dealer attendees can continue to register online for the annual convention.

Furthermore, NIADA mentioned the second phase also marks the unveiling of a new social networking area for dealers. It’s meant to be a space for dealer members to voice their questions, issues, concerns and more to other members via blogs and other social networking tools. The association noted this new social networking area also is to be directly linked to the existing dealer social network at www.auttr.com.