New logo: improved readability, updated but still classic look, and a more accurate reflection (deciduous trees, stone walls as opposed to firs and mountains in the previous logo) of Essex County's open spaces.
Web Site design and development: custom Wordpress CMS theme presents trails info in a user-friendly way using tags and categories; trails can be found via a map, listed by town and also by activity (they automatically display under the correct town/activity according to tags assigned by the writer); latest news and an events list are automatically displayed on the home page; the site can be maintained by staff with no coding experience; secure joining, renewing and donating is enabled through PayPal integration.
NEW: Facebook integration has been added. News and events published on the web site can be sent to the new ECTA Facebook application with just one click when the post is written by the site editor. Fans will then see news, events and trail alerts in their Facebook news feeds. Designed to build community, drive traffic to the web site, and as a convenience for users.
The Ridge is a green development in Aiken, SC. The developer had a basic web site that wasn't very search-engine friendly or flexible enough to take new pages. In addition the imagery some work. A new information architecture plan was developed so that new and future pages could be added and presented in a user-friendly way. The most important layout element was the navigation bar which was completely redesigned to provide a secondary menu bar that would appear when the user hovered the cursor over the relevant main nav section. The main nav uses action words to encourage visitors to envisage themselves interacting with the Ridge. Flash components were rebuilt from scratch and a flash slideshow displaying a gallery of photos was added. Just under 40 pages were coded for the site.
Results so far: the web site has had just under 8,000 visits since launch, 43,000 page views, an average of 6 pages viewed per visit and an average visit time of 4.5 minutes. Stats from Google Analytics.
The MSPA wanted an online presence that would: communicate the value, history and mission of the society (which was formed in 1792); but most of all the society wanted to provide an easy way for those needing agricultural grants to find out about and apply for an MSPA grant. Acknowledging that the rural portion of the audience may not have easy access to a fast internet connection, the site provides a downloadable pdf application form and information packet which can either be completed on a computer and emailed in or printed out, handwritten and mailed in.
