The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) spent about US$70,000 to upgrade its website which went live on Sunday.

Managing Director Marlene Street Forrest told the Jamaica Observer that, “It was important for the JSE to enhance the look and feel of the website and improve user experience. As websites change internationally we felt it important to be in line with these standards, features, and information provided.”

A Twitter user commenting under the handle CaribbeanValueInvest said, “The @jastockex new website is quite the upgrade. The look and feel is so international, on par with @Nasdaq.”

Street Forrest said the upgrade was “based on feedback from users over the years. It was critical for the JSE to ensure that the website has a modern look and provide relevant information when compared to similar websites. We listened.”

Among the new features on the website are a userface which is easier to use and navigate; common look, feel, and theme; upgraded backend technology; improved search capabilities; JSE portal to access stock portfolio and statements; better organised content; and a restructured site and more data rich.

The JSE managing director said data component of the site “will be further enhanced with the introduction of data subscriptions and API subscriptions, which will be added later this year”.

She said traders will now have more information available for research and analysis, noting that “subscription services will be added later to provide more data for deeper analysis”.

In the meantime, she noted that the upgraded website is expected to make the JSE more efficient and put the JSE in a position to introduce more products and services to the market, such as data subscription, API subscription, and JCSD client portal. “Based on the look and feel it is designed to attract more traffic to the website, which may result in more business opportunities,” she said.