In an effort to attract new and retain current members, the Charlotte-Blue Ridge Chapter has recently revamped their entire chapter web site. HFTP Global contacted the Charlotte-Blue Ridge Chapter president; Jay Williams, to catch a glimpse into the process of chapter web site re-design.
Q: What was the motivation behind the redesign and was there a goal in mind?
A: The motivation was our outdated site and the hassle of going to an outside company to make even the smallest updates. We wanted to control this process ourselves. Now our chapter leadership can update and maintain the new site ourselves very easily and at no cost! We also wanted a fresher, more dynamic and user-friendly look that was more representative of our chapter.
Our ultimate goal — to have a web site that would allow us to keep our membership informed on all chapter activities and to serve as a resource for them.
Q: What were the challenges if any?
A: There really were not any challenges. We used the GoDaddy® web site builder which really made the task fairly simple. The GoDaddy support team was very helpful and always there if we had any questions. We were able to put the site together without any knowledge of HTML programming.
Q: What is some advice you would give to other chapters who want to revamp their site?
A: First, with either the help of your board or a committee, you must decide what you want your site to look like, what pages should be included and make a site plan before beginning the design process. Next, look at a web site development tool like GoDaddy and others that may offer many affordable ways to build and easily maintain a web site.
Q: What are some reasons having a chapter web site is so important?
A: It’s a great way to share information about chapter activities and provide a resource for your membership. Pretty much everything we are doing as a chapter is located on our site.
Q: What are your strategies for maintaining the new site going forward?
A: Keep it fresh with current information such as, upcoming meetings and events, program announcements and recent pictures in our gallery. This effort will include training our chapter leaders on how to make updates.
Jay and the staff at HFTP Global encourage chapter leaders to visit the HFTP Charlotte-Blue Ridge Chapter web site and consider making the effort to keep members and chapters current.
To learn more about the HFTP chapters, charting a chapter and chapter web sites please visit the HFTP web site or contact HFTP’s Chapter Relations Manager, Fritz Johnson.
Jay Williams is the director of marketing and sales at Clear Sky Software, Inc.
