The same evolution has now blessed the Internet and websites. It’s rare in fact that I even use my Yellow Pages anymore. Now, like most others, I Google.
Websites are now expected, requisite communication tools. To say you don’t have one results in others viewing you as though you just escaped a Geico Commercial (the caveman variety, not the dreary gecko ones). We have become used to the immediacy the Internet provides as compared to punching buttons on a 2007 phone system, being placed on hold, or transferred around. Somehow, navigating the Internet is less offensive than that, waiting for return calls, or driving somewhere to wait in line.
The same is true today for homeowners associations websites. Your residents no longer view one as a cherry on top of the sundae, but rather as the ice cream itself! If your community has yet to set one up, there are literally dozens of providers offering community association specific website systems at very reasonable pricing. Cost no longer serves as a barrier for establishing a web presence. If your Board of Directors has been procrastinating on the issue, excuses are running perilously thin. After all, why should you wait for a quarterly newsletter (if your HOA even has one) to find out what issues the Association is confronting? Why should you have to call management and wait for an ACC application instead of being able to immediately download one and print it out? These functions are now so basic, as to have become a standard expectation, a part of our daily lives in 2011.
Nevertheless, there are websites and there are websites. Successful implementation and use still requires a commitment to some basic rules:
Currency – Not as in cash, as in keeping site content current. The principal purpose of a community web site is to inform, and most people aren’t going to be interested in being informed about what happened six months ago. The reason we call it “news” is because it’s new, not old. If your residents come to your site and see you’re not keeping it current with frequent updates, they won’t be back. You MUST make a commitment to maintaining fresh content on your community web site. Monthly updates should be viewed as a bare minimum.
Content – Aside from keeping your news and content fresh, the type of content you install on your site also affects the site’s usefulness. For example, all association forms should be installed on the site, either as online forms, or as PDF’s (Adobe Acrobat files) that can be easily printed out. This makes access to forms immediate, eliminating the delay of phoning the management offices for a copy. Are board minutes often sought for review by board members or residents? Build a library of minutes for easy keyword searching and availability.
Quality of Appearance – The image of your community you present to both your residents and to the outside world is significantly formed or affected by the appearance of your web site. If designed at a professional level, it can give residents pride in their community as well as improve the way it is viewed by prospective buyers. You can make your community look better – or worse – by the appearance of your web site. Tech savvy buyers will even be drawn to a community with a top flight community intranet, for example. Keep this in mind when considering volunteer site development, or even when evaluating community web site products – many are poorly designed and even more poorly laid out.
Functionality – Usually if a volunteer creates a web site it lacks any functionality and is limited to displaying text and graphics, and perhaps downloading files. Templated systems designed for community associations offered by various vendors do offer very valuable functionality; however, functions offered differ by vendor. Useful functions such as viewable member directories, message boards, classified ads, online reservation systems, document libraries, etc. all make a world of difference in the usefulness of the site, and the likelihood of residents using it. These functions are not “bells and whistles”, but very basic functions that leverage Internet technology for the betterment of the community. For more detail please visit these sites:- https://www.movie2uhd.net/ www.saintgenieswholesale.com https://appmee.de/ Allthingschildcare.com https://factualfacts.com/ https://www.animeyoko.com/ https://crosstrainer-kaufen.at
Security – If your site is not secured, you and others in the community are likely to hold back as far as what information you feel comfortable placing on the site. Individual logins should be provided and required to access sensitive information, and any registration page should be password protected to help keep outsiders, well, outside!
Ease of Use – Both ease of use for the user as well as for the Site Administrator is necessary. From the user’s point of view, are things easy to locate, is it easy to register, to login? Are there Help files or contacts for assistance? For the Site Administrator, how easy is it for a non-technical layman to manage the site? Are the tools intuitive, are there Help files, is Customer Support available? Failures in either area will lead to frustration and fewer return visits by users, an/or less effort being put into keeping the site content updated. Both will result in an unsuccessful website for the community.
If your association follows these basic guidelines to maximize the use of Internet technology for the good of your community, you’ll never question the value of a community website again. In fact, you’ll soon find yourself a regular visitor to it! Remember, yesterday’s luxury is today’s staple. And that day for community websites has arrived.