REACH 3.0 Website redesign

Transcription

1 REACH 3.0 Website redesign Oral Boston imediawerks.com March 2011 INTRODUCTION A new redesigned REACH website went live in February The new web site is built on top of a content management system called WordPress that allows members of REACH to easily update the content of the site w/o having to know web specific programming languages like HTML, Javascript or CSS. REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 1 of 10

2 A COMPARISON OF REACH v2.0 vs. REACH v3.0 The following is a comparison of REACH v2.0 which was created in 2005 versus the newly redesigned REACH v3.0 website: REACH 2.0 (2005) REACH 3.0 (2011) Steps to update site content Knowledge of web program languages required 1. Download web page to update from webhosting server. 2. Edit HTML code. 3. Upload updated HTML file to webhosting server. 4. Verify change works by viewing change in your browser. Some 1. Via your brower login to secure admin site. 2. From WordPress admin control panel locate page whose content you desire to update. 3. Update page content. 4. Click Publish button to publish new content. None Auto expiring content No Yes Visitors can comment on news items Home page displays upcoming events Technologies utilized (aka The Geek stuff) No Yes (manual updating required) ASP, HTML, CSS, MySQL Yes Yes WordPress, PHP, MySQL REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 2 of 10

3 NEW FEATURES Customizable Animated Teaser Can be customized to display advertisements for upcoming events Search Engine Robust search feature allows visitors to search quickly for specific information. Event Calendar Displays upcoming events sponsored by REACH. Contact Form All messages sent via form are stored in a database and can be linked to MailChimp for future event promotions Rotating home page advertisement banner On the new home page a rotating teaser banner appears directly beneath the website's banner area (area where logo and main site links appear). By default there are three graphics that will appear providing visitors with information about what REACH is and what they do. In addition to these graphics, additional graphics can be added that advertise upcoming events. These event "slides" can be setup to be clickable which means when a visitor clicks on the advertisement they will be taken directly to the appropriate web page where more details on the event can be found as well as the ability to register for the event online (if setup). Robust Search Feature Visitors now have the capability to search for any type of information mentioned in the website using the Search feature. For example anyone looking for information on Casino Night could simply type in Casino Night in the Search box located in the sidebar area of most pages and click Search. The visitor will be presented with a search results page listing all pages and posts that are relevant. REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 3 of 10

4 Event Management System Allows for the setup of events that will appear in Events Calendar. Events Calender system allow you to specify when the event will occur, name of event, cost of event. If you specify the location of the event visitors will have the ability via Google Maps to get driving directions from wherever they are travelling to the event venue. Figure 1 - View events in both calendar format or list style REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 4 of 10

5 Figure 2 - Drill down to see more details for an event. Link to Google Maps is available to assist visitors in getting directions to event venue. REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 5 of 10

6 Contact Management New system allows visitors to send inquiries directly to the info, grants or scholarships accounts. Every message that is sent using the online contact form available on the home page as well as on the Contact Us page will be stored in a database. This ensures that no sent via the website will be lost. The contact information the visitor enters can automatically be transmitted to REACH's MailChimp contact manager. Figure 3 - Upon logging into REACH website admin area list of new contacts is listed in the main dashboard area. REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 6 of 10

7 Figure 4 - View all individuals who have send s to REACH via website. REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 7 of 10

8 Seamless Integration of Scrapbook Videos/Pictures Photos AND videos captured from any REACH Event can be posted on the secure REACH SlideShowPro website. Once photos and/or videos have been published via the REACH SlideShowPro website the photos/videos will automatically be available for viewing on the Scrapbook page of the REACH website. Figure 5- REACH SlideShowPro Director Online Gallery REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 8 of 10

9 Figure 6 - Dynamically display albums from REACH s SlideShowPro Director Gallery in REACH website (scrapbook page) Blog Feature New website provides the capability for articles and news events to be posted and automatically displayed in the News section of the website. REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 9 of 10

10 Customized 404 Error Page Occasionally when someone is looking for something on the REACH website they may mistype the URL for the page they are seeking. In the previous website users were presented with a very non-user friendly message that stated "The page cannot be found" along with a lot of other technical jargon. New website captures instances when this occurs and provides a user friendly error page that allows the person to still navigate with the REACH website using the standard navigation provided in the banner and footer ares of the site. Figure 7 - Custom 404 Error page ensures visitors don't end up at a dead end when attempting to view pages on REACH's website. REACH v3.0 Website Redesign Oral Boston (March 2011) Page 10 of 10