It needs to be a one-stop-shop information source. When new visitors click onto your website you only have about three seconds in which to capture their attention. So taking the right approach to development is crucial.
 

1) Create a winning strategy
Increase revenue through event bookings, selling training materials and publications. Increase membership with a fast renewals process and lower admin costs.
 

2) Understand the market
What do your members want? Conduct member surveys and workshops and monitor member enquiries and comments. Study web analytics to understand how the site is currently being used and whether there’s a requirement for mobile access.
 

3) Focus on the user
Your goals to increase revenue and membership should drive the design and the way information is displayed on the website. Users should be able to find relevant content quickly and easily. Consider mobile access for convenience.
 

4) Design to cross-sell
The way people navigate on websites is changing. Users select links and stories to gain information on areas of interest. Tag all content to category or topic lists relevant to all audiences in order to cross sell events, training materials and publications.
 

5) Integrate your website and membership database
All membership data should be stored in one place to provide members with a personalised, comprehensive service whether they are on the website or using email.
 

6) Personalise pages
Use category or topic lists to create specialist interest groups and web pages relevant to individual roles and areas of interest.
 

7) My Association
This interactive members’ area should deliver personalised content to specific members and promote a sense of belonging. It’s a hub for advice, ideas, news and profiles and should include a members’ search facility, supplier directory and history of member activity and purchases.
 

8) Provide a public platform
Encourage interaction from supporters and the general public as well as members. Provide a platform for them to share expertise and experience. Include comment boxes for feedback, forums and group collaboration features.
 

9) Put admin and services online
Membership renewals, new member applications, event management and bookings and purchases – get the admin online, integrate it with the member database and save money. Make training courses and CPD (Continuing Professional Development) available online too through podcasts and videos.

10) Create a social media strategy
Use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to raise the profile of your association and its business goals and drive more potential members to your website.

1) Not recognising the benefits of a fully integrated website and membership database.

2) Underestimating the time it takes to create and tag all content prior to go live.

3) Not dedicating someone with the right skills and experience to manage the website.

4) Underestimating the cost and resource savings of moving services like renewals online.

5) Not budgeting for on-going investment to ensure the website evolves with the organisation and changing requirements of its members.

It’s also important that associations brief their web development partner fully on their background, philosophy, audiences and aims and business objectives.  “As web developers we need to know as much about the association as possible,” explains Gavin Thorne.

“It’s this knowledge that enables us to suggest new ideas for site design and functions that not only meet the organisational goals but will deliver the right benefits to members and other users.  “In addition to technical expertise and a flare for design and creativity the best web development partners will provide proactive advice and support on your online marketing strategies, search engine optimisation and e-mail campaigns to maximise effectiveness and revenue generation for the business.”

To ensure you provide your web developer with a comprehensive brief, contacts us to grab a copy of Pixl8’s handy checklist.

The changes also introduce new powers for the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), allowing fines to be given when the law has been broken.  Although the new directive came into force at the end of May 2011, the ICO have advised they will not enforce the new regulations until May 2012, providing additional time to make changes in order to comply with the new rules.

For those non-techie people, cookies are packets of data sent between a user’s web browser (e.g. Firefox or IE) and the server which is hosting the website being visited.  There are various types of cookies used for a variety of functions covering:

• User sessions – Tracking website usage in an anonymous form e.g. Google Analytics
• Authentication – When logging into a member area on a website
• User’s preferences – Saving language settings when visiting an international website
• Shopping cart contents – Storing items in a basket as the user continues shopping

However, although cookies may be useful on a number of levels, they may be used in malicious ways such as to track user activity and collect personal data including passwords.  This is the reason why the laws around cookie usage are changing.

Currently the ICO accepts that the directive is fairly vague and is a “work in progress” so it may be some time until specific rules are laid out.  At present, recommendations include asking all site visitors for their permission to store cookies, along with the inclusion of a privacy notice, detailing which cookies are being used for what.  It is worth noting that some cookies will be allowed under the directive, when they are essential to the running of the website.  Other possibilities are that the browser vendors themselves may be obliged to include cookie warning features in their latest versions, but again exact details of requirements may not be known for some time.

For further details in how Pixl8 can assist in making your website compliant, please email us.  For additional up to date news, please visit the ICO website here.