WCTA Website Gets Hits
The new and improved WCTA website at www.wcta-online.com went live early in February of this year averaging more than 1000 visits for the first three months. The site has already surpassed the expectation that it would become a valuable resource for technical, research and association information along with current events and news stories.
“The new site is without question a more professional looking layout and it has a very news media look to it,” says WCTA President Tab Buckner. “We’re very happy to have created a more people and story oriented resource while keeping the technical information our members need to do their jobs.”
As per tradition, the site will remain a technical and information resource for WCTA members. Buttons across the top of the home page link to some of the more information/resource items like mandate, current board and membership application.
“Buttons on the left side of the home page are new and provide access to a variety of breaking and recent news stories, something we’ve not had the ability to provide in the past except via basic email,” says Buckner, adding “also new is our ability to profile members and industry suppliers which is something we hope will be useful and interesting to people.”
According to WCTA Executive Director Jerry Rousseau, the site went live slightly behind schedule and with a few minor glitches but is now “firing on all cylinders”, he says.
“The site was a lot of work and there’s still more to be done. It’s a direct result of our partnership with Inside Golf Media and the hard work of our previous President, Scott Mitchell and Board,” said Buckner. “It’s a great benefit to our members and industry advertisers and we’re pleased it was done at no cost to the association.”
Tied to the new website is a monthly e-newsletter that launched February 15th. “This will become a valuable communication tool for the association,” says Rousseau. “We had been sending email updates over the last few years but they were quite basic, a little bit irregular and they didn’t really tie to anything. The e-news will be consistent, it will link to the website and it makes it quick and easy for every member to stay current. We were also having a lot of trouble with the network limiting our email output so from a logistics standpoint, problem solved,” he added.
The new website is a work in progress and there are further enhancements to be added down the road. “We would like to see a member only section where individuals can post their profiles, make changes to their contact information and lookup their CEC points records,” stated Buckner. “In the nearer future, we hope to have the ability for online conference registration and new member signup, purchasing IPM Manuals, an events calendar and perhaps even a classified ad section.”
The old website at www.wctaturf.com will remain live for several months as the remaining information is slowly but surely transferred to the new site. As a general rule, resource information like Turf Research Project Reports, Pesticide Status documents and hyperlinks will be the last to move and can still be found on the old site.