The Observer and its related publications have for some time now operated under the aspiration of web first, print better.

For breaking news, The Observer has long used the website first and pushed those stories on social media platforms. But for almost the past two years, we have pushed to have all of our content online well before we print it. Sometimes that print front page story was the web centerpiece two or more days ago.

Getting stories, briefs and information to readers as soon as possible means it has to be online first. That’s the fastest way we can deliver news to you, our readers.

We also don’t have the constraints online that we have in print. We don’t know how much print space we will have for news stories, photos, briefs and more about a day before our production for publication. So the earlier we can have all of our content ready, the easier it is to produce the print version of The Observer. That means we have more time to focus on what matters to you — reporting the news, not just packaging it.

The web allows The Observer to have more robust versions of stories, more photos and of course sports on a regular basis.

Online first also gets us — and you, our readers — more prepared for the day when there no longer will be a print newspaper anywhere. That’s still down the line, but technology does not stop advancing. If we at The Observer and other newspapers don’t use technology, we are not going to be around.

And readers who also don’t embrace that technology are going to be in the dark about what is going on in and around them and their communities.

If you’re a subscriber and haven’t yet taken advantage of activating the digital features included in your print subscription price, call our customer service center at 800-781-3214 and activate your digital access.

Andrew Cutler is the interim editor of The Observer.